Evacuations and rescue operations in southern Ukraine continued on Wednesday after the Kakhovka dam was breached and floodwaters rushed through dozens of towns on the southern front of the war zone.
Some 42,000 people have been affected by the devastation on either side of the Dnieper River, which bisects government-controlled territory and Russian-occupied territory, Ukrainian officials said, warning civilians to be wary of mines being swept downstream.
“Extremely careful and remember mine safety rules! Do not approach or touch explosive materials under any circumstances!” said the country’s national emergency service in a message shared on social media.
Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional government, said the intensity of the floods was weakening, but “the water will continue to rush downstream because of the severe damage to the dam”.
Flooding is expected to reach its peak on Wednesday.
Prokukin said 1,852 homes were flooded on the west bank of the river, which remains under Ukrainian control, and 1,457 people had been evacuated.
Police officials said roads and highways in the area were flooded, complicating evacuations.
On the other side of the river, Russian officials said water levels appeared to be dropping on Wednesday in Novi Kakhovka, a town captured by Russian troops last year.
The town, which sits next to the dam, was quickly engulfed by floodwaters on Tuesday. Russian-installed local officials said at least seven people were reported missing there.
Overnight, water levels in several settlements downstream reached critical levels, completely submerging the settlements of Korsunka and Oleshky. Authorities declared a state of emergency in the Russian-controlled territory and spoke of an organized evacuation, although as of Wednesday there were no images of any official evacuation process on local social media.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy reiterated in a routine evening address on Tuesday that he believes Russian forces occupying the dam deliberately blew it up from the inside, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff added that it did so to disrupt Kiev’s counteroffensive .
“The catastrophe caused by Russian terrorists at the Kakhovka hydropower station will not stop Ukraine and Ukrainians. We will still liberate all our lands,” Zelensky said. “Each act of terrorism by Russia only increases the amount of compensation Russia pays for its crimes, not the chances of the occupiers staying on our land.”
The long-awaited military operation to retake Russian-occupied territory appeared to have begun in recent days, with a surge in attacks along the 1,000-kilometer front and an incursion into Russia’s Belgorod region.
Zelensky also warned that the floods would have global consequences and urged the international community to provide support.
“For Africa, Europe, America, China, Australia, India, man-made disasters are evil,” he said. “We must stop the evil in Russia.”
In New York, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council at an emergency meeting that the “magnitude of the disaster” in Kherson would only become apparent in the coming days.
But he said it was already clear that it would have “serious and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people on both sides of the front in southern Ukraine who will lose their homes, food, safe water and livelihoods”.