- About 42,000 people are at risk from flooding in Russian- and Ukrainian-controlled areas along the Dnipro River after a dam collapsed.
- Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the collapse of the dam.
- U.N. aid chief said that the dam breach will have grave and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine through the loss of homes, food, safe water, and livelihoods.
- The Kazkova Dibrova Zoo on the Russian-held riverbank was completely flooded and all 300 animals were dead.
- The Geneva Conventions ban targeting dams in war because of the danger to civilians.
- In a boost for Ukraine’s military, Zelenskiy said he had received “a serious, powerful” offer from countries ready to provide F-16 fighter jets.
About 42,000 people are at risk from flooding in Russian- and Ukrainian-controlled areas along the Dnipro River after a dam collapsed, as the U.N. aid chief warned of “grave and far-reaching consequences”. Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the collapse of the massive dam, which sent floodwaters across a swathe of Ukraine’s war zone and forced thousands to flee.
Ukraine said Russia committed a deliberate war crime in blowing up the Soviet-era Nova Kakhovka dam, which powered a hydroelectric station. The Kremlin blamed Ukraine, saying it was trying to distract from the launch of a major counteroffensive that Russia says is faltering.
U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council that the dam breach “will have grave and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine on both sides of the front line through the loss of homes, food, safe water, and livelihoods”.
No deaths were initially reported, but U.S. spokesperson John Kirby said the flooding had probably caused “many deaths”. Ukrainian officials estimated about 42,000 people were at risk from the flooding, which is expected to peak later.
Buses, trains, and private vehicles were marshaled to carry people to safety in about 80 communities threatened by flooding. In Kherson, cracks of incoming artillery sent people trying to flee running for cover. Residents in flooded Nova Kakhovka on the Russian-controlled bank of the Dnipro told Reuters that some had decided to stay despite being ordered out.
The Kazkova Dibrova Zoo on the Russian-held riverbank was completely flooded and all 300 animals were dead, a representative said via the zoo’s Facebook account.
The United States said it was uncertain who was responsible, but the deputy U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Robert Wood, told reporters it would not make sense for Ukraine to destroy the dam and harm its own people. The Geneva Conventions ban targeting dams in war because of the danger to civilians.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video address that his prosecutors had approached the International Criminal Court about the dam.
The dam supplies water to a wide area of southern Ukrainian farmland, including the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, as well as cooling the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Satellite images showed houses and other buildings submerged, many with only their roofs showing.
As Kyiv prepares for its long-awaited counteroffensive, some military analysts said the flooding could benefit Russia by slowing or limiting any Ukrainian advance along that part of the front line.
In a boost for Ukraine’s military, Zelenskiy said he had received “a serious, powerful” offer from countries ready to provide F-16 fighter jets.
(With inputs from agencies)
