2023-06-08 02:08:49
In southern Ukraine, tens of thousands are without drinking water following the dam explosion. President Selenskyj warns of a catastrophe for the environment and agriculture. NATO is convening for an emergency meeting today.
After the destruction of the dam, concern regarding the consequences for the population in southern Ukraine is growing. Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday dispatched workers to rescue hundreds of people stuck on rooftops and bring drinking water to the flooded areas.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with officials to discuss how to proceed. He warned of an expected environmental catastrophe. In a video posted to YouTube, Zelenskyy said it was impossible to predict how many of the chemicals and oil products stored in the flooded areas would end up in the rivers and sea.
Experts: Destruction will ‘wipe out entire communities’
The Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture was also alarmed: “The fields in southern Ukraine might turn into deserts next year.” The Kakhovka dam and reservoir were vital to the freshwater and irrigation supply of southern Ukraine.
It is already clear that tens of thousands of people are without drinking water, crops have been ruined and the course is set for a long-term power shortage. The destruction will “result in permanent damage to agriculture and drinking water supplies” and “wipe out entire communities,” analyst Michael Kofman of the Center for Naval Analyzes, a US research group, told PBS NewsHour.
Russian troops fled following dam breach
In the Moscow-controlled town of Oleshky, 19-year-old Lera told the AP news agency that the first floor of her home had been flooded. “Everything around us is floating. People are standing on the roofs and asking for help, but nobody is evacuating them,” said Lera, who did not want to give her last name for fear of reprisals.
Most Russian troops fled Oleschky shortly following the dam broke, Lera said. However, there is still a military checkpoint. Boats with people trying to leave the city came under fire from soldiers. Their statements might not be independently verified.
conflicting parties as a source
Information on the course of the war, shelling and casualties provided by official bodies of the Russian and Ukrainian conflict parties cannot be directly checked by an independent body in the current situation.
NATO-general secretary leads crisis meeting
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has announced an emergency meeting with Ukraine for today on the “outrageous destruction” of the Kakhovka Dam. The incident “displaced thousands of people and caused an ecological catastrophe in Ukraine,” Stoltenberg said on Twitter.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will take part in the meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Commission via video link. NATO did not provide any further information regarding the meeting. Kuleba wrote on Twitter that the meeting was taking place at his request. Stoltenberg promised that “NATO mechanisms would be used to provide humanitarian aid.”
mutual finger pointing
The foreign minister reiterated that the “crisis” was caused by “Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam.” Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the explosion that partially destroyed the dam on the Dnipro River on Tuesday night.
Huge amounts of water leaked out and flooded large areas of southern Ukraine. Thousands of people have already been evacuated, and concerns are also growing regarding an imminent environmental disaster.
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