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By VASILISA STEPANENKO
Authorities in Ukraine are saving hundreds trapped on roofs in a humanitarian disaster and an ecological catastrophe along the river, which is part of the frontline of the war that has lasted 15 months. They also provide drinking water in areas inundated by the collapse of a dam.
The region’s misery has been exacerbated by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam, and its emptying reservoir along the Dnieper River.
Tens of thousands have already been left without drinking water. Many are now homeless. Crops have also been damaged, landmines have caused displacement, and an electricity shortage is imminent.
In areas occupied by Russia, high water levels left many stranded. Streets were only passable by boat and some people had to be rescued from roofs. The situation resembled more natural disasters than wars. Some refused to leave.
A mayor has confirmed that three people died in the tragedy. Officials said that at least 4,000 residents of an area with over 60,000 inhabitants have been evacuated. However, the full extent of the catastrophe has yet to be revealed. According to Russian officials, there are 15 000 flooded houses in Kherson.
The dam and reservoir are located in Kherson, an area that Moscow illegally occupied last year and that was annexed by Moscow on September. They provide water for irrigation and freshwater to the southern Ukraine. The reservoir also supplies water to Crimea, which Russia annexed illegally in 2014.
Ukraine controls both the west and east banks of the Dnieper.
The depletion of the Kakhovka Reservoir will not only wipe out this year’s crop, but also prevent irrigation in future years. The loss of this reservoir will also complicate the reconstruction and restart of the hydroelectric plant that was destroyed and provide cooling water to restart the nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia.
The cause of the dam collapse remained unknown a day later, despite both sides accusing one another. Some experts cited neglect and wartime damages, while others suggested that the dam may have been destroyed due to military purposes. Kofman said that “Russia was responsible in either case either by its actions, or because it controlled the dam.”
Kofman, of Center for Naval Analyses (a U.S.-based research group), told PBS NewsHour that the resulting damage would be permanent to agricultural production, water supplies, and communities.
The fighting in the area has left it difficult to estimate how many people are still living there.
The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy also met with local officials to talk about how residents can get drinking water. He called the environmental strikes he described “a crime against nature” that would take many decades to repair.
Zelenskyy, in a YouTube video posted by him, said that it is impossible to know how much oil and chemicals stored in flood-prone areas will end up on rivers or the ocean.
The Ukrainian agriculture ministry has stated that “the fields in southern Ukraine could become deserts next season.”
Lera, 19 told The Associated Press that her first-floor was flooded at Oleshky in Moscow.
Everything around us is afloat. “People are calling for help from rooftops but nobody is helping them evacuate,” Lera said. She declined to give her last name out of fear for reprisals.
Lera reports that most Russian troops left Oleshky soon after the incident at the dam, but a checkpoint remains, and soldiers have attacked boats carrying people who were trying to flee.
Yevhen Ryschuk who fled the city last year after Russians gained control, said that three people had died, and hundreds of residents must be evacuated. Oleshky, 90%, is inundated and experiencing a human crisis because of a lack electricity, water potable, food and water as well as contamination of groundwater.
The Kazkova dibrova Zoo, located in Nova Kakhovka, was under water. Only swans or ducks managed to get out. The Mayor Vladimir Leontyev stated that flooding killed thousands of animals.
According to AP, there are hundreds of trapped animals in Oleshky that need immediate rescue.
People in Kherson waded into knee-deep waters or rode rubber boats to safety. Rescuers were seen in the video carrying victims to safety. A triangular-shaped roof was also visible floating downriver.
Leontyev reported that seven persons were still missing in the Russian-controlled town of Nova Kakhovka, located on the east side of the Dnieper. However, they believed the people to be alive.
In his first comments about the Kakhovka Dam disaster, President Vladimir Putin reiterated Moscow’s claim that Ukraine has destroyed the Kakhovkadam.
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