Floods engulf the frontline in the war in Ukraine

KHERSON, Ukraine — Thousands of people escaped flooded homes in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, including many rescued from rooftops, a day after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam sparked another humanitarian disaster along the 15-month front lines lasting war.

Floods engulfed streets and homes, forcing residents to flee with the meager possessions they could carry from dozens of communities on both sides of the Dnipro River, which divides warring armies across much of southern Ukraine.

As the debris-choked water began to peak on Wednesday, reports indicated that about 4,000 people had been evacuated in Russian- and Ukrainian-controlled areas, according to officials on both sides, a fraction of the roughly 41,000 residents Ukraine said were at risk from the flood.

It was still unclear what caused the dam to fail. Experts said a deliberate explosion at the dam, which has been under Russian control since the war began, most likely caused the massive steel-reinforced concrete structure to crumble.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said Russian troops, who have consistently used the destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure as a war tactic, blew up the dam to “use the flood as a weapon”. Russian officials blamed Ukrainian shelling for damaging the facility, but experts said it was highly unlikely to collapse.

In talks with Mr. Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a “comprehensive investigation” by a committee that includes UN representatives, as well as Russian and Ukrainian experts. Mr Erdogan said the investigation should be done “in a way that leaves no room for suspicion”.

There were still no confirmed reports of deaths and the magnitude of the disaster, which drained a gigantic reservoir for drinking water and irrigation, was only beginning to become apparent. At least seven people were reported missing in the flooding, Russia’s state news agency Tass reported, citing Vladimir Leontiev, the Russian-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka. On the Ukrainian side, three people were missing, according to the National Police.

Mr Zelensky said hundreds of thousands of people “did not have normal access to drinking water” and emergency services were working to bring drinking water to Ukrainian-controlled areas.

In the Ukrainian-occupied western bank city of Kherson, rescuers completely evacuated a neighborhood submerged in foul-smelling floodwaters, venturing into boats to remove people from rooftops and the top floors of houses. The river peaked about 10 feet above normal in Kherson, and Ukrhydroenergo, the country’s main hydropower company, said it would begin to recede in the coming days. Mykolaiv, a Black Sea port city already under pressure as a hub for people fleeing fighting, hosted evacuees.

Information on areas on the Russian-occupied eastern bank was difficult to come by, but state television broadcast images of flooded villages and Russian-appointed officials said about 1,500 people had been evacuated there.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed occupation governor in the Kherson region, said 48 temporary housing facilities with 2,700 beds had been set up, partly with the help of Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry. He declared a state of emergency and listed 35 towns affected by the flooding on the Russian-occupied side of the Dnipro, including places where water reached the roofs of buildings.

Fueling fears that Russia continued a practice that prompted the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant against Putin and one of his top aides, Saldo said the occupation authorities took children from the flooded settlements below the dam and sent them to them. to holiday camps in other parts of the Kherson region or in Crimea. Over the past year, Ukraine and human rights officials have condemned the displacement or forcible transfer of Ukrainian children, calling it a war crime.

The environmental impact of the disaster also became clear. Ukraine’s agriculture ministry warned that the dam’s destruction would cut off water to hundreds of thousands of hectares of farmland, turning some of the country’s most productive grain fields “to deserts as early as next year.” The dam held back a body of water the size of Utah’s Great Salt Lake.

Ukraine’s health ministry said thousands of fish had died, and environmental groups warned the drop in the reservoir’s water level would make it difficult for fish eggs to hatch and replenish populations.

Ukrainian officials also said about 150 tons of machine oil was released from an engine room in the dam, sending toxic water downstream. Another 300 tons of the oil still threatened to leak into the river. Environmental groups warned of pesticides, fuels and other toxins entering Dnipro.

The dam’s destruction could also risk diverting attention, resources and personnel from a long-planned Ukrainian counter-offensive that US officials say may have begun this week. Flood-stricken communities are calling for large amounts of fuel, water and vehicles – all of which are also essential components for military operations – while National Guard soldiers assist in disaster relief efforts.

Fighting continued on the front lines of eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, with Ukraine bombing Russian positions and Russia attacking Kherson even as the flooded city attempted to evacuate residents.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned on Wednesday not to focus too much on the Kremlin’s blunders on the battlefield so far.

“What they lack in quality – they have bad morale, bad equipment, bad training, bad leadership, bad logistics – they make up for in quantity, and quantity has a quality in itself, as the generals keep telling us,” he said.