Russia shells Ukrainian city inundated by dam collapse after Zelenskyy visits area

Associated Press

Kherson: Russian forces on Thursday shelled a southern Ukrainian city that was inundated in a catastrophic dam collapse, Ukrainian officials said, forcing a suspension of some rescue work hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy travelled to the area to assess the damage.

At least five people have died, many are homeless, and tens of thousands are without drinking water after the Kakhovka dam's destruction. Ukraine accused Russia of blowing of the facility, which Moscow's forces controlled, while Russia said Ukraine bombarded it. The ensuing flooding has ruined crops, displaced land mines, wrought widespread environmental damage, and set the stage for long-term electricity shortages.

Exclusive drone footage captured by The Associated Press showed the ruined dam falling into the flooded river and hundreds of submerged homes, greenhouses and even a church. In Kherson city, the largest municipality affected, repeated Russian shelling echoed overhead in the early afternoon not far from a square where emergency crews and volunteers were dispensing aid.

Some evacuation points in the city were hit, wounding eight people, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs. As shells landed in floodwaters, rescue workers temporarily suspended efforts to retrieve stranded residents and pets in an area that Zelenskyy had visited only hours earlier.

“The strikes began during evacuation of the residents, whose houses were flooded,” the ministry said. “Russia has abandoned people in calamity in the occupied part of the Kherson region. It continues to prevent Ukraine from saving the most valuable — human lives.” The dam lay along Dnieper River, a pivotal waterway that forms part of the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

In recent weeks, Ukraine intensified shelling of Russian positions, signalling a long-expected counteroffensive could finally be getting underway. Kyiv has been silent about the start of any such campaign. Amid the fighting, both sides were coping with the fallout from the burst dam. Ukrainian rescue workers stepped up efforts to get water and medical care to beleaguered residents.