Brave Citizens Risk Lives to Evacuate People from Flooded Southern Ukraine After Dam Destruction by Russia

Residents of Southern Ukraine are facing a chaotic situation as they attempt to evacuate people from a vast area flooded by the destruction of a crucial dam in Russian held territory. On Tuesday, Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the Nova Kakhovka hydro-power plant and dam “from inside”, releasing a torrent of water from the massive reservoir it held back onto the surrounding Kherson region.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said on Friday that the dam’s destruction released a surge of water into homes, fields and roads along the Dnieper River toward Kherson, which was liberated from the Russians by Ukraine in 2014. Video shot from an inflatable boat showed a man in the boat holding on to the side of a house as water lapped the walls just beneath a pitched roof.

At least several square miles along a southern stretch of the Dnipro river, lined by industry and farmland, have been inundated by floodwater that’s swirling with debris, fuel and other contaminants. Ukraine has also accused Russian forces of shelling civilians fleeing the floodwaters.

Emergency workers and regular citizens are risking life and limb to evacuate people from the flooded area. The Ukrainian government has called for international assistance to help with the evacuation and relief efforts. The Ukrainian government has also called for an investigation into the dam’s destruction, and is urging Russia to take responsibility for the incident.