At last, help came for Vitalii Shpalin. From a distance, he spotted the small Ukrainian rescue boat traversing floodwaters that had submerged the 60-year-old’s entire neighborhood after a catastrophic dam collapse in the country’s embattled south.
Shpalin ducked, and a bullet scraped his back. He felt one pierce his arm, then his leg. The boat’s rescue worker cried into the radio for reinforcements. “Our boat is leaking,” Shpalin heard him say. An elderly man died before his eyes, his lips turning blue.
In the chaotic early days of flooding, Ukrainian rescue workers in private boats provided a lifeline to desperate civilians trapped in flooded areas of the Russian-occupied eastern bank - that is, if the rescue missions could brave the drones and Russian snipers. Russia’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to requests from The Associated Press for comment about actions by authorities in the Russian-occupied flood zone, or about the attack on the rescue boat.
A local organization Helping to Leave, which helps Ukrainians living under Russian occupation to escape, said it received requests from 3,000 people in the occupied zone, said Dina Urich, who heads the organization’s evacuation department. In Oleshky, many residents moved from the outskirts of town to the center, which sits on an elevated plain.
Drone footage obtained by the AP shows gunshots being fired from a nearby summer home as the evacuation boat passes an estuary. The video’s authenticity was confirmed by Tolokonnikov.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
How Ukrainian artists are enriching the Turkish RivieraAfter fleeing the Russia-Ukraine conflict, a number of Ukrainian musicians and ballet dancers are enthralling guests at the resorts in southwestern Türkiye's Antalya.
Read more »
Ukrainian Animation Soldiers on Despite War: ‘It’s a Job for the Persistent’Ukrainian animation keeps on fighting for its survival. “At the beginning of the invasion, it was crucial to keep working. We had to show our partners and the international market that despite the …
Read more »
Russian forces ‘highly likely’ behind attack on Ukrainian dam, international law investigation saysThe predawn attack on the Russian-held dam unleashed the worst ecological disaster in Ukraine's history since the 1986 meltdown of Chornobyl.
Read more »
Austrian court restarts US extradition proceedings for Ukrainian businessmanAn Austrian court says it has ruled in favor of Ukrainian businessman Dymitro Firtash in a years-long legal saga over a U.S. bid to have him extradited to face corruption charges
Read more »