The suffering of Ukrainians since 15 months ago Vladimir Putin erasing its national identity and subjugating the country Russia for his courageous approach Westa plan that largely failed, southern Ukraine. The explosion of the Nova Kakhovka dam on Tuesday left thousands of people impoverished. flooding of the Dnieper It flooded towns and fields, as if a biblical flood had struck one of the most damaged areas since the beginning of the invasion. In some places knee-length, in some places crowning the roofs, rescue and evacuation work They are advancing in the middle of a slow and non-stop battle.
This dimensions of tragedy aggravated by the fact that the population continues to live. south of Kherson people who were largely inseparable before: seniors, patient, people without resources or Ukrainians who have lived all or part of the war trapped in the war web Russian occupation. Even in the provincial capital, liberated by Kiev troops in October, life had not returned to normal. With the Russian army stationed on the other side of the river, Kherson was a ghost town, daily bombarded with artillery fire and plagued by anxiety and fear. Now, streets have turned to rivers, people without drinking water are stranded, some huddled on rooftops to seek help, according to footage from news agencies.
According to Ukrainian officials, some 16,000 people will remain endangered in the Kiev-controlled areas on the west bank of the river, and some 20,000 in occupied territories By the Kremlin, the lands rise less than sea level and are likely more affected. “She’s sitting on all the street roofs begging for help. The animals are howling and choking,” a neighbor told The Washington Post. old, a town of 25,000 inhabitants in the sector controlled by Russian troops before the war. “Authorities are not helping. keep buses and boats away Yaroslav Vasiliev, another resident of the town, also told him that we paid him with donations from volunteers, who formed a WhatsApp group to coordinate the evacuations.
humanitarian disaster
One of the hierarchies commanding the Russian invasion in Kherson, some 1500 people evacuated So far, while claiming to have saved Kyiv about 1,700. In the Russian region it would be at least seven missing. Ukraine’s state news agency has assured that the water level is expected to rise by up to five meters this Wednesday and start lowering from Thursday. Inside UN Security Councilthe organization’s humanitarian chief, martin griffithsHe announced on Tuesday that the disaster would have “serious and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people on both sides of the front lines in southern Ukraine, as they lost their homes, food stocks, drinking water and livelihoods.”
Both sides accuse each other of detonating the bomb. Nova Kakhovka Dam, also a hydroelectric power station and it was one of the largest in the country. built during soviet times with theoretically designed reinforced concrete resist nuclear attack, it was under Russian control from the first days of the occupation. Based on the damage to the dam front, various engineers consulted by ‘The New York Times’ said that the explosion’s factory engine roomReinforcing the Russian authorship thesis defended by Kiev.
Geneva Convention
Not surprisingly, everything indicates that Russia has more to gain militarily with this brutal blast. Volodymyr Zelensky described as “environmental destruction“ and one “environmental bomb of mass destruction“. Geneva ConventionIt explicitly forbids attacks on “premises of dangerous power”, such as hydroelectric dams, for which many of the laws of war exist, because of the danger to civilians. And ukrainian prosecutor’s office already investigating possible war crimes.
The pro-Russian governor himself in the occupied areas of Kherson, Vladimir BalanceHe admitted on his Telegram channel that “from a military-tactical point of view” Nova Kajovka was destroyed, “benefits the Russian forces“The balance, yes, stuck to the Kremlin’s version that it would be one. ukraine sabotagethe thesis that he is not supported by any evidence and that his troops control the infrastructure.
Humanitarian disaster walks away from expected meeting Ukrainian counteroffensive, No matter how confusing both sides play, their officials have no intention of telegraphing. Days after the attack launched by the Kremlin after the Ukrainian attacks intensified at various points, Kiev wanted to silence these rumors. “None of this is true. The whole world will know when the counterattack starts, because they will see it,” he said. Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.