Zelenskyy arrived Thursday to evaluate the response to damage caused by the dam breach, including efforts to evacuate civilians and provide them with drinking water and other support.
An animal rescue volunteer moves among floating debris on a boat in floodwaters at Kherson on June 8, 2023. | Aleksey Filippov/AFP via Getty ImagesFive residents of a Russian-occupied city next to a breached dam have died in massive flooding triggered by the catastrophe, its Kremlin-appointed mayor said Thursday, the first official report of deaths from one of the largest environmental crises since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine more than 15 months ago.
Thousands of people have been left homeless, cropland has been ruined, access to electricity and mobile phone networks has been limited or cut off entirely, and land mines have been displaced by the surging waters, officials say.
Ukrainian authorities cut off fresh water supplies to Crimea after Moscow’s illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014, and Russian President Vladimir Putin cited the need to restore them among the main reasons for his decision to invade Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that the destruction of the dam was an “attack” and an “atrocious act,” without saying who is to blame. Paris said it was rushing aid including water purifiers, 500,000 water purification tablets and hygiene kits to help people displaced by the disaster.
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Zelenskyy visits area flooded by destroyed dam as five reported dead in Russian-occupied townUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in the flood-hit region of Kherson to evaluate response to damage caused by a dam breach. The Ukrainian leader wrote on his Telegram account that he was helping assess efforts to evacuate civilians, provide them with drinking water and other support, and try to stanch vast environmental damage. Meanwhile, the Kremlin-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka, a Russian-occupied town 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the collapsed Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric plant, reported on Russian state TV Thursday that five of seven local residents who had been declared missing following the dam breach have died. The two remaining people have been found and efforts were being made to evacuate them, Vladimir Leontyev added.
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Zelenskyy visits area flooded by destroyed dam as five reported dead in Russian-occupied cityUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in the flood-hit region of Kherson to evaluate response to damage caused by a dam breach. The Ukrainian leader wrote on his Telegram account that he was helping assess efforts to evacuate civilians, provide them with drinking water and other support, and try to stanch vast environmental damage. Meanwhile, the Kremlin-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka, a Russian-occupied town 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the collapsed Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric plant, reported on Russian state TV Thursday that five of seven local residents who had been declared missing following the dam breach have died. The two remaining people have been found and efforts were being made to evacuate them, Vladimir Leontyev added.
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Ukraine, Russia accuse each other of blowing up dam near Kherson; Zelenskyy warns of disasterA dam and a hydroelectric power plant in a Russian-controlled area of southern Ukraine were destroyed Tuesday, putting thousands of lives at risk in what President Volodomyr Zelenskyy said is the “largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades.”
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Erdogan proposes int'l probe on dam collapse in calls with Zelenskyy, PutinIn separate calls with his Ukrainian and Russian counterparts, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Ankara will resolutely continue its efforts to establish peace between Moscow and Kiev.
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Ukraine flood victims say occupying Russian officials fail to send helpFlood victims in Russian-occupied areas of southern Ukraine described scenes of panic and desperation on Wednesday, with residents trapped in their homes and no sign of emergency responders in the area.
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Toxic flood from dam breach having largest impact on Russian-held territoryThe flooding has disproportionately affected military preparations on the Russian-occupied side,' says George Barros of the Institute for the Study of War.
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