Rescue workers face “extreme danger” amid continued Russian shelling during flood evacuation efforts
From CNN’s Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
Russia continues to shell Ukrainian-held parts of the Kherson region as rescue workers try to evacuate people from the floods, local Ukrainian officials report.
“Over the past day, the enemy made 34 attacks in the region… including one artillery attack on Kherson city,” a post on Telegram by the Kherson regional military administration said on Thursday.
“There were no civilian casualties or injuries as a result of the shelling," it added.
This comes after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power plant early Tuesday prompting mass evacuations, flooding and fears for large-scale devastation across southern Ukraine.
Both Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the breach. CNN cannot independently verify either claim.
According to Ukrainian officials on Telegram, “20 settlements are flooded in the liberated territories. 2,629 residential buildings are under water, and 971 more homes were flooded yesterday."
Despite the extreme danger and constant Russian shelling, evacuations from the flooded area continue. As of 6a.m local time (11p.m E.T), 1,999 people have left the danger zone. Most people were evacuated from the Korabel microdistrict in Kherson city,” Ukrainian officials said.
Ukrainian police said on Telegram that they are, “patrolling the flooded streets of the regional center, villages and towns to prevent looting and identify those citizens who may be trapped in the water.”
Ukrainian troops trying to push through Russian lines in Zaporizhzhia, Kremlin-backed official says
From CNN’s Jo Shelley in London, Anna Chernova, and Olga Voitovych in Kyiv
Ukraine’s frontline troops are trying to break through Russian lines in the south of the country, a Kremlin-appointed official in the Russian-occupied part of the Zaporizhzhia region has told state news agency RIA Novosti.
Vladimir Rogov said Ukraine’s armed forces were trying to advance but had not yet had any success, according to RIA.
In a series of posts on Telegram on Thursday morning, Rogov said the Ukrainians had been, “hitting the positions of our guys for many hours with artillery and HIMARS.”
He said the assault was aimed at forcing Russian troops to “flee” their positions.
Ukraine shelled the occupied town of Tokmak overnight, destroying two houses, Rogov said in a separate post. He urged civilians there to leave for the southern port of Berdyansk, which lies further into Russian-held territory.
Ukrainian officials have been tight-lipped about Kyiv's plans for its long-anticipated counter-offensive, though there have been signs in recent weeks that the effort is nearing.
Ivan Fedorov, the Ukrainian mayor of Melitopol put a cryptic message on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
“The weather for the Russo-fascists in the Zaporizhzhia direction is hot summer days and nights in the still occupied Tokmak,” Fedorov said. “The occupiers did not sleep today until two in the morning.”
3 people believed drowned in Russian-occupied town of Oleshky
At least three people have drowned in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky after waters unleashed by the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam flooded “about 90%” of the area, the town’s exiled Ukrainian mayor told CNN.
Yevhen Ryshchuk said, "three people drowned there. We do not know how many more dead people there will be. I think there might be many more."
Between 3,500 and 4,000 people still lived in Oleshky, including “many pensioners and bedridden people,” Ryshchuk said.
Rescuers are now trying to evacuate thousands of people in the flood zone, while many have climbed onto the roof of their house to escape the floods.
“Not everyone had the opportunity to climb to the roof from inside the house,” when the floodwaters arrived, while others, “have been sitting on the roofs for two days,” Ryshchuk said.
This comes after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces have been shooting at rescuers trying to reach flooded areas in occupied parts of the Kherson region.
Meanwhile, in villages around Oleshky the situation is more complicated as "villages like Pravi Solontsi, for example, are 100% flooded. No one was allowed to go there... How could people be rescued?” Ryshchuk told CNN.
Zelensky visits flooded Kherson region
From CNN’s Jo Shelley
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has visited Kherson after water unleashed by the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam flooded vast swathes of the region.
Zelensky discussed evacuations and relief for the flooded areas at a meeting, along with the “prospects for restoring the region's ecosystem and the operational military situation in the man-made disaster area,” a statement posted to his official Telegram channel said.
He also “visited a crossing point where people are being evacuated from flooded areas,” and posted a video of himself meeting rescue workers.
At least 600 square kilometers (232 miles) of the Kherson region has been flooded, a regional military commander said Tuesday.
UN nuclear watchdog to strengthen presence at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
From CNN's Jo Shelley
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will strengthen its presence at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant next week, the UN nuclear watchdog said Wednesday.
A new, larger team will replace the group currently at the plant in southern Ukraine when director Rafael Grossi visits the facility next week, according to an IAEA statement.
“In view of the IAEA’s intensifying activities under the newly established principles, he [Grossi] will… strengthen the IAEA’s presence at the site, replacing the current team with a larger group travelling with him across the frontline,” the statement said.
Russia captured the nuclear plant in March last year though it is still mainly operated by Ukrainian staff. Throughout the war, the IAEA has warned of a nuclear disaster following repeated shelling near the facility, which is Europe's largest nuclear plant.
“Now more than ever, the IAEA’s reinforced presence at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant is of vital importance to help prevent the danger of a nuclear accident and its potential consequences for the people and the environment at a time of increased military activity in the region," Grossi said.
Dam impact: The plant lies upstream from the Nova Kakhovka dam, which collapsed on Tuesday. The reservoir supplies cooling water to the plant and is crucial for its safety.
"The possible loss of the plant’s main source of cooling water further complicates an already extremely difficult and challenging nuclear safety and security situation,” Grossi said.
600 square kilometers of Kherson region is flooded, regional commander says
From CNN's Olga Voitovych
At least 600 square kilometers (232 square miles) of Ukraine's southern Kherson region has been flooded following the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse on Tuesday, according to a regional military commander.
Floodwaters have risen to an average level of 5.61 meters, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, said in a statement on Telegram.
The collapse of the dam and hydro-electric plant sent torrents of water gushing down the Dnipro River.
The east bank, which sits lower than the west, suffered the worst of the flooding. Of the whole flooded area, 68% was on the east bank and 32% on the west, Prokudin said.
Nearly 2,000 people have now been evacuated from the “danger zone” and were being housed and fed in temporary aid shelters, Prokudin said.
“Despite the extreme danger and constant Russian shelling, evacuations from the flooded area continue,” he said.
“The situation on the eastern bank is extremely difficult. People are suffering not only from the high water, but also from Russian terror and the occupiers' unwillingness to help people.”
Russian attacks: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russian forces have been shooting at rescuers trying to reach flooded areas that are under Russian control. "When our forces try to get them [the residents] out, they are shot at by occupiers from a distance," he told German outlet Bild. A volunteer taking part in the rescue efforts in Kherson told CNN that rescue workers face Russian shelling on nearly every sortie.
Climber proudly waves Ukrainian flag at top of Mount Everest
Ukrainian climber Antonina Samoilova has summited Mount Everest for the second time and dedicated her success to the Ukrainian people.
She says she wanted to fly the Ukrainian flag "on top of the world" in support of her country.
"I dedicate this climb to each Ukrainian, to my country, to Ukraine, to soldiers who are fighting for our freedom," she said in an emotional video message on the summit.
WATCH:
It's early morning in flooded Kherson, southern Ukraine. Here's what you need to know
From CNN staff
As the southern Kherson region reels from flooding brought by the collapse of a major dam, Ukrainian officials say Russia carried out strikes that killed one person in the region.
The Nova Kakhovka dam's collapse has prompted evacuations for thousands of people and spurred fears of an ecological catastrophe.
Here's the latest:
- Rescue efforts: Evacuations in flooded areas are ongoing after the Nova Kakhovka dam's collapse on Tuesday, officials in Ukrainian-controlled Kherson said. The head of the Kherson region military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said: "We expect that the water will stay and accumulate for another day and then will gradually decrease for another five days." At least 1,854 people have been evacuated since Tuesday, Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs said.
- Refusal to leave: Some people are determined to stay in flooded homes rather than be evacuated, an aid worker in Kherson told CNN Wednesday. CARE Ukraine area manager Selena Kozakijevic said there are an “unknown number of people who are determined to stay in their houses even though they are flooded,” and many of them are elderly.
- Russian attacks: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian forces have been shooting at rescuers trying to reach flooded areas that are under Russian control. "When our forces try to get them [the residents] out, they are shot at by occupiers from a distance," Zelensky told German outlet Bild. On Wednesday, a volunteer taking part in the rescue efforts in Kherson told CNN that volunteers face Russian shelling on nearly every sortie.
- Call for help: Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed Wednesday to international aid organizations to help evacuate residents in flooded areas. He claimed occupying Russian forces have offered "no help" following the dam breach. Shmyhal addressed leaders of the UN and International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a video on Twitter, urging them to "act immediately."
- "Ecocide" probe: Ukraine is investigating the Nova Kakhovka dam incident as a war crime and as possible "ecocide," or criminal environmental destruction, a statement from the Prosecutor General’s Office said Wednesday. Zelensky has described the situation as "an environmental bomb of mass destruction."
- Blow to Russia: Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said with the dam's collapse, "the Russians have actually done more damage to themselves." Mailar said the flooding hit Russian fortifications and military positions. "Basically, the territory that is now under the control of the aggressor will be more affected," she said.
Zelensky says Russians are shooting at rescuers in flooded areas
From CNN's Olga Voitovych, Yulia Kesaieva, Fred Pleitgen, Radina Gigova, Sarah Dean and Helen Regan
Russian forces have been shooting at Ukrainian rescuers trying to reach flooded areas in the Kherson region that are under Russian control, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday.
Rescuers are trying to evacuate thousands of people in the flood zone of the Russian-occupied Nova Kakhovka dam and hydro-electric power plant, which collapsed on Tuesday sending torrents of water gushing down the Dnipro River.
Zelensky made the comments in an exclusive interview with German tabloid newspaper Bild published Wednesday.
"People, animals have died. From the roofs of the flooded houses, people see drowned people floating by. You can see that on the other side. It is very difficult to get people out of the occupied part of Kherson region," Zelensky said.
"When our forces try to get them [the residents] out, they are shot at by occupiers from a distance," Zelensky told Bild. "As soon as our helpers try to rescue them, they are shot at. We won't be able to see all the consequences until a few days from now, when the water has trickled down a bit."
On Wednesday, a volunteer taking part in the rescue efforts in Kherson told CNN volunteers face Russian shelling on nearly every sortie.
"Of course it is extremely dangerous," said Roman Skabdrakov from the Kaiman Volunteer Group.
The destruction of the dam and subsequent flooding forced more than 1,800 people to flee their homes, inundated thousands of hectares of farmland, threatened vital water supplies and prompted warnings of catastrophic environmental damage from Ukrainian officials and experts.
Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations over the dam's destruction, without providing concrete proof that the other is culpable. The dam was occupied by Russia at the time of its collapse. It is not yet clear whether the dam was deliberately attacked or whether the breach was the result of structural failure.
Read more here.