Russia shelled Ukrainian city flooded due to dam collapse after Zelensky’s visit to the region

Russian forces on Thursday shelled a city in southern Ukraine that was flooded in a catastrophic dam collapse, forcing the suspension of some hours of rescue work after President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in the area to assess the damage.

At least five people died, many were left homeless, and tens of thousands were left without drinking water after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up a facility controlled by Moscow forces, while Russia claimed that Ukraine had bombed it.

The ensuing flooding destroyed crops, dislodged landmines, caused significant environmental damage and set the stage for long-term power shortages. Exclusive drone footage captured by the Associated Press shows a collapsed dam plummeting into a flooded river and hundreds of houses, greenhouses and even a church flooded.

In the city of Kherson, the largest affected municipality, repeated Russian shelling echoed overhead in the early afternoon near a square where ambulance crews and volunteers were distributing aid. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, several evacuation points in the city were damaged, eight people were injured.

As the shells hit floodwaters, rescuers temporarily halted work to evacuate stranded residents and pets in the area Zelenskiy had visited just hours earlier.

“The strikes began during the evacuation of residents whose houses were flooded,” the ministry said. “Russia left people in distress in the occupied part of the Kherson region. He continues to prevent Ukraine from saving the most valuable thing – human lives.

The dam ran along the Dnieper River, a key waterway that forms part of the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has stepped up its shelling of Russian positions, signaling that the long-awaited counter-offensive could finally begin. Kyiv is silent about the start of any such campaign.

During the fighting, both sides coped with the consequences of the dam break. On Thursday, Ukrainian rescuers intensified their work on the delivery of drinking water, medical care and other assistance to the besieged residents.

Zelenskiy traveled to Kherson to see the efforts first hand. He visited an aid distribution point and medical facility and ordered the Ukrainian authorities to provide a “fair assessment” of the damage to help residents pay compensation, his office said online.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “has no plans at the moment” to visit the affected Moscow-occupied areas, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Five residents of the Russian-occupied city of Novaya Kakhovka have died, the city’s Kremlin-appointed mayor said Thursday. Vladimir Leontiev said on Russian state television that, in addition, two more people were found missing.

The collapse of the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station and the devastation of its reservoir on the river have exacerbated the suffering that the region has endured for more than a year from artillery and rocket attacks. The United Nations and local authorities say that access to fresh water and preventing contact with water contaminated with explosives and chemicals from industrial sites has been one of the most pressing concerns.

Officials say more than 6,000 people have been evacuated from dozens of flooded cities, towns and villages on both sides of the river. The true extent of the disaster has yet to be revealed in the affected area, which was home to more than 60,000 people.

In the areas they administer, Russian-appointed authorities have said nearly two dozen people have been hospitalized, 4,280 people have been evacuated and about 14,000 buildings have been flooded.

Russian officials say the destruction of the dam, which created a giant reservoir of water used for irrigation and drinking, will eventually cut off the fresh water supply to Russian-controlled Crimea, although there is enough fresh water on the peninsula for now – with its reservoirs 80% full.

Ukrainian authorities cut off fresh water supplies to Crimea following Moscow’s illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014, and Russian President Vladimir Putin has cited the need to restore them as one of the main reasons for his decision to invade Ukraine.

The region’s governor Alexander Prokudin said Thursday morning’s average flooding in the region was more than 5.6 meters (18 feet), and about 600 square kilometers (231 square miles) of the region were flooded – more than two-thirds of that in Russian territory. – controlled east coast.

“People are tired… (they) have no desire to flee to other regions of Ukraine,” Prokudin said.

French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that the dam collapse was an “attack” and a “cruel act” without saying who was responsible. Paris said it had urgently delivered aid, including water purifiers, 500,000 water purification tablets and hygiene kits, to help people displaced by the disaster.

Ukrainian officials accused Russia of purposefully destroying the dam. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a key Putin ally, backed Russia’s claim that Ukraine blew up the dam to divert attention from what it called Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive.

Ukrainian authorities have largely remained silent on recent developments on the battlefield amid growing reports of an intensification of hostilities that could lead to a long-awaited counteroffensive.

In the eastern region of Donbass, the battle for Bakhmut continued with the offensive of Ukrainian troops on the flanks of the city, one of the epicenters of the war, which had been destroyed during months of fighting. Ukraine’s 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a Telegram message on Thursday that Ukrainian forces had advanced 1.2 kilometers.

Joanna Kozlowska in London and Hanna Archirova in Warsaw, Poland contributed to this report.

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