Zelenskyy visited the flooded south

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has on 8 June arrived in Kherson Oblast, where Russian invaders blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) and flooded dozens of settlement.

Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram

Quote: "Working trip to Kherson Oblast. A coordination meeting on dealing with the aftermath of the blowing up of the Kakhovka HPP dam.

There are many important issues: the operational situation in the region that has developed due to the disaster, the evacuation of the population from potential flood zones, dealing with an emergency caused by the blowing up of the dam, and the organisation of vital support for flooded areas.

We will also discuss the prospects for restoring the region's ecosystem and the operational military situation in the man-made disaster zone."

Details: According to Zelenskyy, it is important to calculate losses and allocate funds to compensate residents affected by the disaster.

Developing a programme to compensate for losses or relocate businesses within Kherson Oblast is also necessary.

The president also visited the crossing point in Kherson where evacuation from the flooded areas is taking place.

Update: Later, Zelenskyy posted a video from Mykolaiv Oblast.

The president visited the main pumping station of the Inhulets River Canal Administration, which was flooded due to the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP dam.

Evacuation of people has been carried out in flooded settlements, rescue workers and representatives of the authorities are working on the spot.

A round-the-clock disaster management headquarters has been established in Snihurivka hromada.

Read also: Flooded South: the consequences of blowing up the Kakhovka dam (in brief)

"We are not afraid, we have sailed home." Ukrainska Pravda on high water and evacuation in Kherson

Background:

• On the night of 5-6 June, Ukraine’s Operational Command Pivden (South) reported that Russian occupation forces had blown up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), completely destroying the dam and the power plant's turbine hall. The draining of the Kakhovka Reservoir threatens the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
• The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant has caused an environmental catastrophe. The water from the reservoir has begun to flood towns and villages, and evacuation of local residents from dangerous areas has begun. The blowing up of the dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant has caused problems with the water supply in the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Marhanets and Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stressed that the disaster at the Kakhovka HPP caused by Russia would neither stop Ukraine from liberating its own territory nor increase the chances of the occupiers staying on this land.
• Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that he is shocked by the reaction of the UN and the Red Cross to the blowing up of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) by the Russian occupiers. He added that international organisations, such as the Red Cross, should immediately join in evacuating people from flooded cities and villages, in particular in the temporarily occupied territory, where Ukrainian military and emergency workers currently do not have any access.

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