According to the information from Ukraines Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday, at least 29 people are killed and 31 are still missing due to floods after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam.Reportedly, the dam in southern Ukraine collapsed on June 6, which resulted in destroying villages, flooding farmland and cutting power and clean water supplies to tens of thousands of people.However, its unclear if the dam was targeted intentionally or if structural issues led to its collapse. According to Kyiv, Russia detonated the dam “in panic” before a planned counteroffensive by Ukraine, while Russia claims Ukraine launched “mass artillery attacks” on the building to cut off water to Crimea and create a diversion from the war.The interior ministry of Ukraine reported on Saturday that 3,614 individuals had been rescued from the flooded districts, “including 474 children and 80 people with reduced mobility.”As per sources, 1,300 homes in the Kherson and Mykolaiv areas were still underwater.The same day, Andrey Alekseenko, the leader of the Kherson regions administration with support from Russia, provided a greater death toll in a Telegram message. Alekseenko said that “Unfortunately, the death toll has increased to 29 people.” “Four people live in Nova Kakhovka, 13 people live in Hola Prystan, and twelve people live in Oleshky. We will offer each family that has lost a relative the support they require.”#StopEcocideUkraine https://t.co/sPp9d4yfQm— MFA of Ukraine 🇺🇦 (@MFA_Ukraine) June 17, 2023 Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the area around the dam has been one of the most disputed areas.After being under Russian control for eight months, the city of Kherson, which is located on the west bank of the Dnipro River, was freed by the Ukrainian forces in November. However, a significant portion of the rivers east bank remains under Russian control south of the Nova Kakhovka dam.Noteworthy, large portions of southern Ukraine receive water from the reservoir, including the Crimean peninsula, which Russia unlawfully acquired in 2014.
