While every day the scale of humanitarian, environmental and economic disasters from the collapse of the fault in New Kakhovka, in south of UkraineMoscow and Kyiv accuse each other of continuing the hostilities, which complicates the work of rescuers terribly.

According to the Kyiv Prosecutor General’s Office, one person died as a result of the incident. Kherson due to “point hits” by Russian artillery, while the operation was underway to remove the victims of the flood, as the main streets of the city turned into rivers and traffic is carried out on inflatable boats. For his part, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the Ukrainian army of shelling while rescue teams were working on the Russian-controlled eastern bank of the Dnieper.

Yesterday morning it became known about the first human casualties as a result of the flood caused by the elements of last Tuesday. The Russian-appointed mayor of Nova Kakhovka said five people missing until yesterday have been found dead and the number is expected to increase in the next 24 hours. The Ukrainian governor of the Kherson region said about 600 square kilometers of land were flooded, of which 68 percent is on the Russian-controlled east coast and only 32 percent on the west. The average water height is estimated at 5.6 meters. Drone videos from international agencies show flooded cities, where water reaches the roofs of houses and even churches, with no signs of human life.

Zelensky on the dam

Volodymyr Zelenskyy yesterday visited Kherson, which is about 60 kilometers from the dam, for the first operational assessment of natural disasters and their impact on the development of hostilities. The President of Ukraine discussed with local authorities the planning for the safe transportation of flood victims, the provision of drinking water and other essentials, the solution of economic problems and the impact on the ecosystem.

Another serious danger comes from thousands of mines knocked out of minefields and carried by water to fields, roads and any other place where the danger of detonation may lurk at any moment. Erik Tollefsen, head of the relevant UN agency, stressed that the problem would drag on for decades, recalling that World War II mines were found in Denmark in 2015 and remained operational.

On the operational front, NBC, citing a high-ranking Ukrainian official and front-line soldier, reported that as of yesterday, a Ukrainian counter-offensive centered in Zaporozhye was in full swing, which was later refuted by a representative of the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces. Earlier, the British Ministry of Defense reported heavy fighting “on many sectors of the front”, and in most cases the initiative belonged to the Ukrainians. At the same time, Kiev said that due to the flood, the Russians were forced to withdraw their forces to the Kherson region about 15 kilometers from their positions until Tuesday. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Ukrainian army launched four waves of attacks overnight on Russia’s defense line, but failed.