June 18, 2023 – The death toll from the disastrous flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine has risen to 16, according to Kyiv officials. Russian officials have reported that 29 people have died in Moscow-controlled territories.
The Kakhovka Dam was breached on June 6, releasing floodwaters across a vast region in southern Ukraine, as well as Russia-occupied parts of the country. The flooding has destroyed farmland and disrupted supplies to civilians.
Over 3,600 individuals have been evacuated from the flooded areas in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, Ukraine’s interior ministry reported via its Telegram channel on Saturday. Meanwhile, 31 people remain missing, and approximately 1,300 houses are still submerged.
Andrei Alekseyenko, chairman of the Russian-installed administration in Moscow-occupied parts of the Kherson region, confirmed on Telegram that the death toll in those areas has risen to 29.
Ukraine has accused Russia of destroying the Soviet-era dam, which has been under Russian control since the early days of the 2022 invasion. A team of international legal experts assisting Ukraine’s prosecutors in their investigation announced preliminary findings on Friday, stating that it was “highly likely” that the collapse in Ukraine’s Kherson region was caused by explosives planted by Russians.
In response, the Kremlin has accused Kyiv of sabotaging the hydroelectric dam, which held a reservoir the size of the U.S. Great Salt Lake. Moscow claims that Ukraine sought to cut off a crucial water source for Crimea and divert attention from a “faltering” counter-offensive against Russian forces.
