Thousands of civilians evacuated from Ukraine after partial destruction of large dam – International

2023-06-06 17:46:00

The partial destruction of the Kakhovka dam, in southern Ukraine, of which Moscow and Kiev are accused, caused flooding in about 20 cities this Tuesday (6) and forced the evacuation of thousands of people.

“So far, 24 locations in Ukraine have been flooded,” said Interior Minister Igor Klymenko, and more than 17,000 civilians had to be evacuated from the flooded areas, according to prosecutor Andrii Kostin.

“More than 40,000 people may be in flooded areas. Ukrainian authorities have evacuated more than 17,000 people. Unfortunately, more than 25,000 civilians are in Russian-controlled territory,” Ukrainian prosecutor Andrii Kostin said on Twitter.

Captured by the Russians at the start of their offensive in Ukraine more than a year ago, the dam’s hydroelectric plant is also “completely destroyed”, announced the head of the Ukrainian hydroelectric operator, Ukrhydroenergo.

A high-ranking official installed by the Russians in the part of the Kherson region (southern) under their control announced the withdrawal of about 900 people from the occupied areas near the Dnieper River.

– You accuse each other –

Ukrainian President Volodymir Zelensky accused Russia of “blowing up” the dam after laying mines.

“It is physically impossible to blow (the dyke) in one way or another, from the outside, with bombing”, as stated by Moscow, added Zelensky, specifying that the explosion took place on Tuesday at 2:50 am (20:50 on Monday, at from Brasilia).

“The world must react. Russia is at war against life, against nature, against civilization,” said Zelensky, who on Tuesday told Pope Francis’ special envoy in Kiev that a ceasefire in Ukraine “will not bring peace “.

According to the Ukrainian government, the destruction of the dam is an attempt by the Russians to “stop” the offensive of their army. On Monday, Ukraine claimed to have gained ground near the town of Bakhmut (east), while downplaying the scale of “offensive actions” elsewhere on the front.

Russia says it is repelling such large-scale attacks, but acknowledged on Tuesday that 71 of its soldiers had been killed in recent days.

Ukrainian authorities say they have been preparing a major counter-offensive for months to force the withdrawal of Russian troops.

As for the dam, the Kremlin denounced an act of “deliberate sabotage” by Kiev and “firmly” rejected the Ukrainian accusations.

Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine denounced “several Ukrainian attacks” against the dam.

– “There is no immediate nuclear danger” –

The partial destruction of the dam raises fears of consequences for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located 150 kilometers upriver, because it guarantees its cooling.

However, “there is no immediate nuclear danger”, emphasized the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), adding that its experts at the facility are monitoring the situation.

Like the dam, the plant is located in an area occupied by Russian forces since the invasion they launched in February 2022.

The plant’s director, Yuri Chernichuk, appointed by the Russian occupiers, stated that “there are currently no threats” to the security of the facility.

In the city of Kherson, residents fear the consequences.

“The flood is right there, in front of our eyes. Nobody knows what can happen from now on. A good Russian is a dead Russian, I can’t say more,” resident Viktor told AFP.

The partial destruction of the dam is “Europe’s biggest man-made environmental disaster in decades”, Zelensky said, accusing Russia of being guilty of “brutal ecocide”.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba called an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council and called on the European Union and the G7 for “devastating new sanctions against Russia”.

Russia will have to answer for this “war crime” consisting of the destruction of civil infrastructure, said the head of the European Council, Charles Michel, while NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denounced a “scandalous act”.

Built in the 1950s, at the height of the Soviet era, the Kakhovka dam has strategic value for supplying water to the North Crimean Canal, which rises in southern Ukraine and crosses the entire Crimean peninsula, under Russian control since 2014.