Ukraine: Kherson faces flooding after Kakhovka dam explosion – Ukraine-Russia War

Occupied, bombed and now flooded: the tragedy of Kherson, the regional capital of southern Ukraine, is played out in three acts. Since the hydroelectric dam of Kakhovka, about sixty kilometers upstream, gave way very early on Monday morning, the Dnieper jumped from its bed to spread on both coasts.

The eastern bank is still in the hands of the Russian army, which managed the dam, while the western bank, where Kherson is located, is under the control of kyiv. The two capitals accuse each other of having caused this natural disaster of human origin.

Below the center of Kherson, in Chaikovskoho Street, once 300 meters from the river, geopolitical contests seem far away and the facts established. Svetlana, a fifty-year-old resident, knows to whom she owes all her misfortunes: “They came, invaded us and they continue to lie. Mobile phone, pack of cigarettes and wallet in hand, she encourages her husband, Serhii, who is struggling to save their cat, a refugee on the roof of their house. Water up to the chest, the man of good will must give up: the current is too strong. Tuesday, late afternoon, the water was still rising.

The war is on the way

The muddy Dnieper covered the gardens and climbed the floors of the houses left to fend for themselves. At number 46 Chaikovskoho Street, residents forgot two small, colorful towels on the clothesline that the flood now threatens to eat away. Some houses still have the windows boarded up against explosions. Because the war lurks here. A few detonations are responsible for reminding him. The nearest Russian positions were a handful of kilometers before the Dnieper flood pushed them back, probably a few kilometers.

In an alley, a dozen burly men are busy helping their fellow citizens with their three tired inflatable boats (but only two engines, one of which is too weak to go against the current). As in the early days of the war, the volunteers assisted as much as they could the authorities faced with a Herculean challenge. About 17,000 people are in the critical areas. On Tuesday, 1,752 residents had been evacuated.

Valera and his comrades have saved 25 people since Tuesday. The bad sunburn in the neck of the fifties testifies to his intense activity on the water. Tuesday afternoon is all about rescuing pets left behind. Dogs, cats, chickens. A bit everywhere, in the flooded district, silhouettes of volunteers emerge on the roofs and on precarious boats. Two men have a physical fight with a recalcitrant German shepherd who nearly overturns them, while others are trying to capture a small screaming dog.

Far from the shore, in the center of Kherson, Irina watches over the displaced in a school transformed into a humanitarian aid centre. They are only a handful to sleep on the spot. Most were sent by train to the rear. Smiling, enthusiastic, impassive to the detonations, the very young 47-year-old grandmother does not hide her immense anger in the face of this new tragedy: “I am afraid of this word but I feel nothing but hatred. Generations and generations after me will feel it too.”