Zelensky visits Kherson as death toll from flooding increases
Mike Brest
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the areas affected by the collapse of a major dam and hydroelectric power plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine on Thursday.
The Nova Kakhovka dam sits on the Dnipro River, which, at this point in the war, divided Ukrainian and Russian troops, and an explosion on Tuesday broke the dam, leading to overwhelming flooding in the nearby downstream areas. Both sides have accused the other of causing the explosion without providing evidence to support the claim, and the Biden administration is trying to ascertain who was culpable for the attack.
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“The situation in the occupied part of Kherson region is absolutely catastrophic. The occupiers simply abandoned people in these terrible conditions. Without rescue, without water, just on the rooftops in flooded communities,” Zelensky said, noting that more than 2,000 people have been rescued in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions from the rising water, though he accused Russian forces of attacking rescuers.
“When our forces try to get [civilians] out, they are shot at by occupiers from a distance,” he told the German newspaper Bild. “As soon as our helpers try to rescue them, they are shot at. We won’t be able to see all the consequences until a few days from now, when the water has trickled down a bit.”
Russian officials made a similar allegation as they accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack that Zelensky called “ecocide.” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian leader Vladimir Putin did not plan to visit the flooded region.
Zelensky did not provide a death toll, though Mykolaiv regional police chief Seri Shaikhet, a Ukrainian official in Ukrainian-held territory, said a 53-year-old man who refused to be evacuated died in the flooding, while Vladimir Leontiev, the Russian-installed head of the Nova Kakhovka city administration, said at least five people died in the flooding in the city, according to CNN.
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The flooding in southern Ukraine is widespread. At least 230 square miles in the region have been flooded, while floodwaters have risen to an average level of 18 feet, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, said in a statement on Telegram.
Thousands of people have been forced to abandon their homes as roughly 80 settlements or villages could be affected. Ukrainian leaders have estimated that roughly 40,000 people could be affected, while the environmental impact remains unknown.