During his daily televised address to Ukrainian citizens, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross to immediately join the rescue of people from flooded towns and villages, particularly in the temporarily occupied territory, where Ukrainian military and rescuers cannot currently reach.
Zelesnkyy said that the Ukrainian military and rescuers do their best to help Ukrainian citizens trapped in flooded towns and villages of the Kherson Oblast following the Kakhovka dam destruction. However, Ukrainian authorities cannot reach thousands of people who need help in the Russian-controlled territories of the Kherson Oblast that suffer from the devastating flooding.
“Our military and special services are saving people as much as possible, despite the [Russian – ed.] shelling. But large-scale efforts are needed,” Zelesnkyy said. “We need international organizations, such as the Red Cross, to immediately join the rescue operation and help people in the occupied part of Kherson Oblast. Every person who dies there is a verdict on the existing international organizations that have forgotten how to save lives.”
Russian troops blow up dam of Kakhovka HPP, unleashing environmental disaster (UPDATING)
Ukraine’s President said that if an international organization is not in the area of this disaster, it means that “it is incapable of functioning.” He added that all relevant requests from the Ukrainian government had been sent.
According to Zelenskyy, as of the evening of 7 June, more than 2,000 people were rescued from the flooding in the Kherson and Mykolayiv oblasts.
However, according to Ukraine’s President, the situation in the occupied territories is “catastrophic” because Russian invaders “abandoned people in these terrible conditions without rescue, without water, trapped on the roofs of houses in flooded communities.”
Ukrainian dam engineer rules out self-destruction of Kakhovka dam
“Now we need a clear and quick reaction of the world to what is happening. It is impossible to establish for sure how many people in the temporarily occupied territory of the Kherson oblast may die without rescue, without drinking water, food, and medical care,” Zelesnkyy said.
Ukraine’s President thanked those world leaders who expressed their “support for Ukraine and clear condemnation of the Russian crime of ecocide.”
Yesterday, in his interview with Bild, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that he was shocked by the reaction of the United Nations (UN) and the Red Cross to the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. Zelenskyy claimed that the UN and the Red Cross rejected Ukraine’s requests for assistance. Zelensky emphasized that even though the tragedy occurred many hours ago, neither the UN nor the Red Cross deployed their representatives to the area. However, they “should be the first to save lives as this is what these structures were created for,” Zelesnkyy noted.
Related:
- Almost 3,000 buildings underwater in Ukrainian-controlled part of Kherson Oblast
- One week before Kakhovka explosion, Russia suspended accountability for military-caused hazards
- Russians blew up Kakhovka Dam using explosives planted there last fall – Danilov
- World leaders call Russian attack on Kakhovka plant a “war crime”
- Erdogan talks to Zelenskyy and Putin, calls for international investigation of dam destruction (euromaidanpress.com)
- Kakhovka dam to deteriorate further over next days, causing additional flooding – UK intel
