Both President Volodymyr Zelenskyj and Prime Minister Denys Sjmyhal are appealing for international help after the destruction of the large Kakhovka dam. – The Russian occupiers do nothing to help. They have left them to drown. International aid organizations; on behalf of the government of Ukraine, you must do something now, said Prime Minister Denys Sjmyhal. – We implore you to step in and carry out the evacuation of those who live in the Russian-occupied parts of Kherson county, those whom the Russians have “sentenced to death”, Sjmyhal continued. A video posted by the Ukrainian defense on Twitter shows Ukrainian drones dropping bottles of water to anyone trapped in their houses. Residents tell Ukrainian media that there is no organized evacuation. Not allowed to leave the houses It was on the night of Tuesday that the walls of the dam burst and the water from the large Kakhovka reservoir and the Dnipro river was allowed to freely flow down. According to the governor, 600 square kilometers of the entire Kherson county is now under water. 32 percent of this is on the east side of the river, where Ukrainian forces are in control. 68 percent is on the west side of the river, which Russian forces still occupy, Oleksandr Prokudin states on social media. A total of 29 towns and villages have been flooded. 19 of them are on the east side, 10 on the west side. According to the National Ukrainian Rescue Service, around 2,000 people have been evacuated from the areas they reach. Both the authorities, the defense and aid organizations have mobilized and are working together to get people out, give them food and shelter and transport them on to non-flood affected areas. news in Kherson: People must take refuge on rooftops How the situation is on the Russian-controlled side is more uncertain. Those who rule say they are doing what is possible, but this is disputed by Ukrainians who live there. The Russian news agency TASS writes that 14,000 houses are under water. Tass further quotes Russian security services as saying that 4,300 people have been evacuated, but this has not been verified by either Ukrainian or independent bodies. Olesjky is one of the towns that has been hit hard by the floods. Photo: Maxar Technologies / AP Three confirmed dead One of the cities under Russian control is Oleshky. The exiled Ukrainian mayor of the city tells the Kyiv Independent that he receives reports of civilians not being allowed to leave their houses. Jevhen Rysjtsjuk says most of the boats in the city must have been taken by the Russians. Residents tell him and the Ukrainian media that no organized evacuation is taking place and that there is no help to be had from those who manage the area. Several have sought refuge on roofs and trees to get away from the bodies of water. A video shared on social media shows a civilian man with a rowing boat trying to get close and dock with a house that is under water. A family of four and a dog are already sitting in the rowing boat. Three people are said to have been found dead in Olesjky. The deaths are to be the first to be confirmed in connection with the flood disaster. Asking the UN and the Red Cross for help President Volodymr Zelenskyj said on Wednesday evening that the UN and the Red Cross and the international community must do more. The need to deal with the consequences is urgent, was the message. French President Emmanuel Macron promised after an evening chat with Zelenskyj that France would send emergency aid during “the next few hours”.
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