Zelensky visits Kherson as flood rescue efforts enter its third day
ODESA, Ukraine — President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said he visited the flood-ravaged Kherson region on Thursday, where rescue efforts continued after the destruction of a dam on the Dnipro Riverwhile calling for “a clear and swift global response” to the disaster.
An explosion at the Kakhovka dam early Tuesday sent a torrent of water from a reservoir upstream down the river, flooding much of the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson and dozens of settlements on both sides of the Dnipro, an active war zone that cuts across Russian and Ukrainian-controlled territory to stand.
“I visited a border crossing where people are being evacuated from flooded areas,” Mr Zelensky said a statement on the Telegram messaging app, in which he thanked rescuers. “Our job is to protect lives and help people as much as possible.”
As of Thursday morning, the average flood level in the Kherson region stood at more than 18 feet, Ukrainian regional officials said, adding that about 600 square kilometers, or 230 square miles, remained under water in a region that spans 11,000 square miles.
Of the area under water, 32 percent is in the Ukrainian-controlled West Bank and 68 percent is in the Russian-controlled East Bank. Oleksandr Prokudinthe head of the regional military administration of Ukraine in Kherson.
The Dnipro River is a front line in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Shelling across the river by Russian forces on the eastern side has hampered efforts by Ukrainian authorities and aid agencies to respond effectively to the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the dam’s breach.
On Wednesday, Mr Zelensky called for “a clear and swift global response” to the flooding and criticized international agencies that were “incapable of taking action”.
“Every death there marks an indictment of the existing international mosaic, of international organizations that have abandoned the habit of saving lives,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
In peacetime, it is not uncommon for international aid agencies to mobilize quickly and provide assistance, as they did after the deadly earthquakes that hit Syria and Turkey in February. But providing aid becomes increasingly complicated in a war zone.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said on Twitter on Wednesday that his teams in Ukraine were “working around the clock” to help and evacuate those affected by flooding, and to assess what could be done to support the humanitarian response.
Residents said intense shelling of the Ukrainian-controlled area in the flood zone had continued since the dam broke early Tuesday, with some describing them fleeing the area under fire. Mr Prokudin said Ukraine recorded 353 shells fired from Russian mortars, artillery, missile systems, drones, tanks and aircraft in the region on Tuesday.
On Thursday, Ukrainian authorities said they had evacuated nearly 2,000 people from the Kherson flood plain, including more than 100 children, and set up nine evacuation points. But the state emergency service also warned of the dangers of mines and unexploded ordnance being displaced by floods.
Kremlin-appointed officials said this on the Russian-occupied side of the river on Wednesday at least 1,500 people had been evacuated. But the total number brought to safety is a fraction of the approximately 41,000 people on both sides of the Dnipro who Ukraine says are at risk from the flooding.
The International Organization for Migration, the largest aid agency operating in Ukraine, also said it was assisting in the disaster, warning on Wednesday that thousands of people in a “critical zone” lack drinking water.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Mr Zelensky on Wednesday and said his country would “very quickly” send humanitarian aid to Ukraine, including an initial convoy of about 10 tonnes of supplies requested by Kiev, including water purification tools and portable cisterns.
Aureline Breeden and David Kurkovskiy contributed reporting.