French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday released a statement saying that his country would send aid to Ukraine “within the next few hours” after the Kakhovka dam breach triggered floods forcing the people to spend the night on roofs and trees.
“France condemns this atrocious act, which is endangering populations. Within the next few hours, we will send aid to meet immediate needs,” Macron wrote on Twitter.
I expressed to President Zelensky my solidarity with the Ukrainian people after the attack on the Kakhovka dam. France condemns this atrocious act, which is endangering populations. Within the next few hours, we will send aid to meet immediate needs.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) June 7, 2023
The announcement came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky highlighted to his French counterpart the urgent need to control the situation and handle the impact of the incident.
During the call with French President Emmanuel Macron, they “spoke about the current situation in Kherson region, the environmental and humanitarian consequences of the Russian act of terrorism, and outlined the urgent needs of Ukraine to eliminate the disaster”, Zelensky said in a tweet.
I had a thorough phone call with the President of 🇫🇷 France @EmmanuelMacron. Thanked him for the opportunity to participate in the Summit of the European Political Community and for support at the UN Security Council. Spoke about the current situation in Kherson region, the…
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 7, 2023
People forced to spend the night on roofs, trees due to flooding
The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine caused heavy flooding and people awaiting rescue in affected areas spent Tuesday night (June 6) on roofs or trees. The critical dam along the Dnipro River in Ukraine’s Kherson region now held by Russia, collapsed on Tuesday. It is not yet clear who was responsible for the dam breach as both Kyiv and Moscow have been accusing each other.
Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies showed houses and buildings submerged, with many showing only their roofs, and water taking over parks, land and infrastructure. And many such people slept on roofs and sat on trees, waiting to be rescued, the news agency Reuters reported.
42,000 people at direct risk from flooding: Ukraine
The Ukrainian government estimated that around 42,000 people are at direct risk from flooding which is expected to peak on Wednesday, and hundreds and thousands would be left without access to drinking water.
In a statement, the agriculture ministry said the disaster would cut off the water supply to 31 irrigation systems in the Ukrainian regions of Dnipro. The dam’s destruction has left 94% of irrigation systems in Kherson, 74% of those in Zaporizhzhia, and 30% in Dnipro regions without water, the ministry added.
Residents in affected areas have started fleeing, carrying children on their shoulders, dogs in their arms, and belongings in plastic bags while rescuers used rubber boats to search areas where the waters reached above head height.
Putin reacts, calls Kakhovka dam attack ‘barbaric act’
President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (June 7) called the attack on the Russian-occupied Kakhovka dam a “barbaric act”, in his first public reaction to the situation. Moscow has already blamed Ukraine for the “catastrophic” attack.
The hydroelectric dam was ripped open early Tuesday after a reported blast and in the aftermath, Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame for the attack.
The Kremlin said in a statement that Putin told Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a phone call that the breach was “a barbaric act which has led to a large-scale environmental and humanitarian catastrophe”.
(With inputs from agencies)
