Governor: Evacuation of Kherson Oblast settlements affected by flooding underway after Kakhovka dam explosion.

Around 16,000 people's homes in Kherson Oblast are located in "critical risk" zones for flooding after Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported[1] on June 6. Speaking on national television, Prokudin said that the residents of affected settlements are being evacuated by buses to Kherson, then further to Mykolaiv, Khmelnytsky, Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi, Kyiv, and other cities. An evacuation train is also scheduled to depart from Kherson at 12:00 p.m. local time.

As of 7:30 a.m. local time, the settlements of Tiahynka, Lvove, Odradokamianka, Ivanivka, Mykilske, Poniativka, Tokarivka, Bilozerka, and the Ostrov district in Kherson were "fully or partially flooded," according to Prokudin. "We understand that other settlements will also be affected by flooding, and we are prepared for it," he said. Prokudin urged people to only follow information from official sources and to remain calm.

Ukraine's Southern Operational Command reported[2] early on June 6 that Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote[3] at 8:21 a.m. local time that he had called an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. "The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only confirms for the whole world that Russian forces must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land," the president said.

"Not a single meter should be left to them, because they use every meter for terror. It's only Ukraine's victory that will return security," Zelensky added.

Russian forces blow up Kakhovka dam, triggering humanitarian disaster Ukraine's Southern Operational Command reported early on June 6 that Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. "The scale of the destruction, the speed and volumes of water, and the likely areas of inundation are being clarified," the military said on their official Facebook pag...

News editor

Kate Tsurkan is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent.

She is a writer, editor, and translator. Her work has been published in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Harpers, The Washington Post, and elsewhere. She is the co-founder of Apofenie Magazine.

Originally from the U.S., she resides in Chernivtsi, a city in the west of Ukraine.

References

1. ^ reported (t.me)
2. ^ reported (m.facebook.com)
3. ^ wrote (t.me)
4. ^ Russian forces blow up Kakhovka dam, triggering humanitarian disasterUkraine's Southern Operational Command reported early on June 6 that Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. "The scale of the destruction, the speed and volumes of water, and the likely areas of inundation are being clarified," the military said on their official Facebook pag... (kyivindependent.com)