War in Ukraine: After dam destruction: Thousands in need – new attacks

war in Ukraine

Flooded villages, the risk of epidemics and homelessness: the damage caused by the destruction of the Kachowka dam is enormous. Meanwhile, the head of the Kremlin, Putin, is also commenting on the much-discussed Ukrainian counter-offensive that may already be underway. The day at a glance.

More news about the war in Ukraine

After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, the situation for thousands of people in the flooded part of the Cherson war zone remains threatening. The United Nations spoke on Friday of at least 17,000 people affected by the dam collapse – it could also be up to 40,000, it said in Geneva.

In the Ukrainian-controlled part of the Kherson region, military governor Olexander Prokudin said 32 towns and more than 3,600 houses were under water. More than 2000 people and hundreds of animals were brought to safety. Prokudin called on people to leave their flooded homes. According to the governor, the flood water dropped by 20 centimeters compared to the previous day. The level showed 5.38 meters on Friday.

Meanwhile, in Russia, the head of the Kremlin spoke out Wladimir Putin on the much-anticipated Ukrainian counter-offensive – and said it was already underway.

UN: War crimes question over dam destruction premature

The UN human rights office cannot yet judge whether the destruction of the dam is a war crime. “As the circumstances of the incident remain unclear, it is premature to consider whether a war crime may have been committed,” said Jeremy Laurence in Geneva. “We reiterate our call for an independent, impartial, thorough and transparent investigation.” According to Lawrence, requests to visit the Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation have so far been rejected.

audio recording released

Ukraine accuses Russian troops of having mined the hydroelectric power station and then blown it up. The Ukrainian secret service SBU published on Friday an audio recording of a conversation in which a Russian soldier is said to have admitted the crime. A man can be heard saying that a Russian sabotage group was responsible for the attack. Whether the recording is genuine was not independently verifiable. On the other hand, Russia claims that the dam was destroyed by Ukrainian shelling.

Military Analyst: Dam breach hardly changes military course of war

According to a military analyst, the destruction of the Kachowka Dam would have little immediate impact on the military course of the war. The dam is located on the Dnipro River, which forms the front line in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine. “It is rather unlikely that Ukraine planned to cross the Dnipro as an important offensive axis,” said Niklas Masuhr, a researcher at the Center for Security Studies at the ETH University in Zurich, the German Press Agency. This is related to the high risks of such a crossing operation against prepared Russian forces. “So in a narrower military sense, it’s not obvious how the dam breach could push the war in one direction or another in the short term.”

DRK sends relief supplies to Ukrainian flood plains

After the dam was destroyed, the German Red Cross (DRK) in Berlin sent relief supplies to the crisis area. On Friday morning, a truck was loaded with 13.3 tons of relief supplies in the DRK’s logistics center at Schönefeld Airport and headed towards Ukraine, DRK spokeswoman Rebecca Winkels told the German Press Agency. Supplies include water and hygiene kits. A helper from the Ukrainian aid organization Vostok SOS warned of a possible risk of epidemics because of the many dead animals in the water.

The water level in the reservoir continues to fall

After the destruction of the dam, the water level in the reservoir continues to fall. Since the disaster on Tuesday, the level has fallen by almost five meters to 11.7 meters on Friday morning, the state hydroelectric power plant operator Ukrhydroenergo in Kiev said on Friday. The water drops about a meter in 24 hours. The state-owned company also pointed out that the dam wall, which has not yet completely collapsed, continues to burst. The aim now is to dam the water of the Dnipro in the reservoirs above the Kachowka station in order to have reserves for the summer.

Putin: Ukrainian counteroffensive has begun

“We can say with certainty that this offensive has begun,” Putin told journalists, according to the Interfax agency. Previously, some international media, citing Ukrainian military representatives, had suspected that the operation to liberate areas occupied by Russia had been going on for a few days. Kiev itself is keeping a low profile, but has always emphasized that it will not comment on the start of its own offensive.

Putin said there had been “intense fighting” for five days. He also claimed that the Ukrainians had not achieved their objectives on any sector of the front. However, this could not be verified independently. Since the beginning of the war, the Russian side in particular has repeatedly made false military statements.

Russia fires drones and missiles at Ukraine

In new attacks on Ukraine, Russia has attacked the country with drones, cruise missiles and rockets. A total of 10 of 16 drones and 4 cruise missiles were shot down, the air force in Kiev said. There had been air alerts across the country. In the Zhytomyr area, one person died and three were injured after a rocket was launched, the debris fell to the ground and hit several apartment buildings, the regional administration said. According to the authorities, two rockets hit an industrial building and a car wash in the city of Uman in the central Ukrainian region of Cherkasy. Eight people were injured, two of them seriously, it said.

Drone strike in Russian city of Voronezh – three injured

According to the authorities, three people were injured when a drone hit a multi-storey house in the Russian city of Voronezh. The incident is being investigated, said regional governor Alexander Gusev. Photos showed that several apartments on the lower floors had been destroyed. The Voronezh region in south-west Russia partly borders Ukraine. The regions close to the border repeatedly complain about the shelling of Ukrainian territory. However, the number of victims and damage in Russia bears no relation to the consequences of the war in Ukraine. (dpa/cgo)