The resident coordinator of the UN in Ukraine visited this Friday the area affected by the floods caused by the rupture of the dam of the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power station.
Speaking to the media from the town of Bilozerka, some 20 kilometers west of the city of Kherson, Denise Brown expressed her concern after visiting villages completely submerged by floods five kilometers from the front line and described the situation as ” dramatic”.
“What I have seen today is flooded crop fields. Houses destroyed, as well as civil infrastructure, like water and power, and the environment potentially polluted, so there are huge immediate needs and a big, big problem in the long term,” he stressed.
Regarding the number of people affected, Brown pointed out that the first estimates of displaced people point to some 17,000 peoplebut that to this number should be added the civilians who have not yet been able to mobilize and those who remain on the left bank of the Dnipro River, which is not under Ukrainian control.
“I think it is very important to understand that the crisis is not over, it is evolving, and we are all trying to adapt and that is why these conversations with governments are essential,” he said.
Brown also met with the Ukrainian First Deputy Minister and a mine expert and discussed the importance of warning the public about the possible displacement of land mines when the water level begins to drop.
Alert to lack of drinking water
The spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Shabia Mantoo, expanded the information on displaced persons and indicated that of the nearly 17,000 people controlled by the Ukrainian government, there could be about 40,000.
“Water, sanitation and hygiene needs are priorities. Hundreds of thousands of people lack access to potable water, as the reservoir was a critical water source for the surrounding regions,” he explained.
He added that the number of evacuees rises to 2,200 people and expressed his concern about a possible combination of drinking water with wastewater, heavy oil and pesticides.
He also announced that the agency will participate in an interagency convoy today and tomorrow to Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to deliver supplies to the most affected areas. Along with other partner agencies, the agency continues to conduct a damage assessment to understand the magnitude of the impact of the flooding.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) chartered five trucks with additional supplies to the town of Bilozerka, one of the communities hardest hit by flooding caused by the Kakhovka dam explosion.
In a Twitter message, the executive director of the World Food ProgramCindy McCain, announced the distribution of emergency food for 19,000 people in the provinces of Kherson Mykolaiv.
Access to the area under Russian control
For his part, a spokesman for the human rights office said that the UN still cannot establish whether what happened is a war crime.
“As the circumstances of the incident remain unclear, it is premature to examine whether a war crime had been committed. We reiterate our call for an independent, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation to be carried out.”
Jeremy Laurence again asked Russia, in addition, to allow aid to enter the territories it occupied.
“We have repeatedly asked Russia for access to the occupied territories and Russia has denied us this access. Not only office observers, but humanitarian agents are not allowed to enter the occupied territories. We reiterate the UN’s broader appeal to the Russian Federation to allow access to the occupied territories to assist those who have suffered from the humanitarian catastrophe caused by the destruction of the Karkhovka dam,” he said.
