UN warns of disaster after Kakhovka dam collapse in Ukraine
(VOVWORLD) -The United Nations does not have any independent information on how a Ukrainian dam burst, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday, describing it as "another devastating consequence of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.”
 The Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in the town of Nova Kakhovka, southern Ukraine, collapsed on June 6. (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
Mr. Guterres said it was a “major humanitarian, economic and ecological disaster. At least 16,000 people have lost their homes and safe and clean water supplies. Thousands more are at risk.”
The UN is coordinating with the Government of Ukraine to send drinking water and water purification equipment to the affected area. He said attacks against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure must stop and people must act to ensure accountability and respect for international humanitarian law.
The UN Security Council met on Tuesday at the request of both Russia and Ukraine.
Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station, which sits on the Dnieper River in an area Moscow has controlled for more than a year. Russian officials blamed Ukrainian bombardment in the contested area, where the river separates the two sides.
The Nova Kakhovka dam is 30km east of Kherson city. It supplies water to Crimea, the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which Moscow has controlled since 2022. It also generates electricity for the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.