Ukraine rushes drinking water to flooded areas

Kherson, The Gulf Observer: Authorities on Wednesday rushed supplies of drinking water to flooded areas from a collapsed dam in southern Ukraine as officials weighed where they might resettle residents who relied on the breached reservoir on the Dnieper River that forms part of the front line in the 15-month war.

More than 2,700 people have fled flooded areas on both the Russian and Ukrainian-controlled sides of the river, according to official tallies, but it was not clear whether the true scale of the disaster had yet emerged in an area that was home to more than 60,000 people.

The Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and reservoir, essential for supplying drinking water and irrigation to a huge area of southern Ukraine, lies in a part of the Kherson region occupied by Moscow’s forces for the past year. It is also critical for water supplies to the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Ukraine holds the western bank of the Dnieper, while Russia controls the eastern side, which is lower and more vulnerable to flooding.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met with officials on the “urgent provision of drinking water and long-term solutions for settlements that were dependent on the reservoir,” as well as assessing damage to property and the environment in the region.

Zelenskyy said Ukraine will appeal to international organizations for help.