KHERSON, Ukraine: Floodwaters crested across an area of Ukraine’s south on Wednesday, following the damage of a massive dam on the front line between Russian and Ukrainian, which blamed each other for the breach.
Residents traveled through flooded streets, carrying toddlers on their shoulders, pets in their arms, and valuables in plastic bags, as rescuers used rubber boats to search for survivors in areas where the water was higher than their heads.
Ukrainians’ claims
Ukraine claimed the flood would cut off drinking water to hundreds of thousands of people, flooding tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural land, and transform more into deserts.
The collapse at the Nova Kakhovka dam coincided with the apparent start of a long-awaited counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces, which was viewed as the war’s next major phase. Each side accused the other of continuing to shell over the flood zone and warned of landmines unearthed by the flooding.
Kyiv said on Wednesday that its troops in eastern Ukraine had advanced by more than a km around the devastated city of Bakhmut, its most specific claim of progress since Russia confirmed the start of the Ukrainian offensive this week. Russia claimed to have stopped the attack. Residents in the country’s south blamed the dam’s failure on Russian troops who controlled it from their positions on the opposite bank.
Russia declared a state of emergency in areas of Kherson province where several towns and villages lie in the lowlands below the dam. Residents said Russian troops in waders patrolling the streets were threatening civilians who approached. Ukraine expects floodwaters to recede by the end of Wednesday after reaching nearly five meters overnight, according to presidential deputy chief Oleksiy Kuleba.
So far, 2,000 people have been evacuated from the Ukrainian-controlled flood zone, and the water level has reached its peak in 17 settlements with a combined population of 16,000 people. According to Russia’s Tass state news agency, the water level might remain elevated in some areas for up to ten days.
