Zelenskyy Visits Flooded Ukraine Area  06/08 06:19

   Five residents of a Russian-occupied city next to a breached dam have died 
in massive flooding triggered by the catastrophe, its Kremlin-appointed mayor 
said Thursday, the first official report of deaths from one of the largest 
environmental crises since Russia's invasion of Ukraine more than 15 months ago.

   KHERSON, Ukraine (AP) -- Five residents of a Russian-occupied city next to a 
breached dam have died in massive flooding triggered by the catastrophe, its 
Kremlin-appointed mayor said Thursday, the first official report of deaths from 
one of the largest environmental crises since Russia's invasion of Ukraine more 
than 15 months ago.

   Vladimir Leontyev, the Russian-appointed mayor of Nova Kakhovka, told 
Russian state TV that two other people who had gone missing after Tuesday's dam 
breach had been found, and efforts were underway to evacuate them.

   Officials say more than 6,000 people have been evacuated from dozens of 
inundated cities, towns and villages on both the Russian and 
Ukrainian-controlled sides of the Dnieper river, which has become part of the 
front line between the fighting forces.

   The collapse of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and emptying of its reservoir 
on the river have added to the misery that the region has suffered for more 
than a year from artillery and missile attacks. Rescue workers fanned out to 
get drinking water to beleaguered locals, warning that contaminated water could 
cause illness.

   Thousands of people have been left homeless, cropland has been ruined, 
access to electricity and mobile phone networks has been limited or cut off 
entirely, and land mines have been displaced by the surging waters, officials 
say.

   On the Ukrainian-controlled western bank, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 
arrived Thursday to evaluate the response to damage caused by the dam breach, 
including efforts to evacuate civilians and provide them with drinking water 
and other support.

   After visiting an aid distribution point and a medical facility, Zelenskyy 
ordered Ukrainian officials to provide a "fair valuation" of flood damages and 
develop a scheme to compensate residents whose property was damaged or whose 
businesses had to relocate, his office said in an online update.

   In areas that they administer, Russian-appointed authorities said nearly two 
dozen people have been hospitalized, 4,280 people have been evacuated and some 
14,000 buildings have been flooded.

   Russian officials say the destruction of the dam, which created a giant 
reservoir of water used for irrigation and drinking water, will eventually halt 
fresh water supplies to Russian-controlled Crimea, even though the peninsula 
has enough fresh water for now -- with its reservoirs 80% full.

   Ukrainian authorities cut off fresh water supplies to Crimea after Moscow's 
illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014, and Russian President Vladimir 
Putin cited the need to restore them among the main reasons for his decision to 
invade Ukraine.

   Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the average level of flooding 
Thursday morning in the region was more than 5.6 meters (18 feet) and roughly 
600 square kilometers (231 square miles) of the region were submerged -- more 
than two-thirds of that on the Russian-controlled eastern bank.

   He said nearly 2,000 people had been evacuated from Ukraine-controlled 
areas, and the operations were continuing despite constant shelling from 
Russian forces across the river.

   "People are tired ... (they) have no desire to flee to other regions of 
Ukraine," Prokudin said.

   The true scale of the disaster is yet to emerge in an affected area that was 
home to more than 60,000 people.

   French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that the destruction of the dam was 
an "attack" and an "atrocious act," without saying who is to blame. Paris said 
it was rushing aid including water purifiers, 500,000 water purification 
tablets and hygiene kits to help people displaced by the disaster.

   Ukrainian officials have accused Russia of purposely destroying the dam, 
which is located in an area controlled by Russian forces.

   President Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus, a key ally of Russian President 
Vladimir Putin, backed the Russian claim that Ukraine blew up the dam to 
distract attention from what it described as a botched Ukrainian attempt to 
launch a counteroffensive.

   "They needed to cover up the three days of their 'counteroffensive' in which 
they lost nearly 200 armored vehicles and more than 2,000 troops," he said 
during Thursday's meeting with officials. "And so it's all about Kakhovka and 
no one is talking about that. It's quite obvious."