KYIV - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the flooded southern region of Kherson on Thursday to discuss emergency operations following flooding caused by the destruction of a huge dam. 

The dam collapsed on Tuesday, unleashing flood water from the Dnipro River.

Moscow, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Kyiv blame each other for the incident.

“Many important issues were discussed. The operational situation in the region as a result of the disaster, evacuation of the population from potential flood zones, elimination of the emergency caused by the dam explosion, organisation of life support for the flooded areas,” Mr Zelensky said on the Telegram messaging app under video footage of his visit. 

“Also, the prospects for restoring the region’s ecosystem and the operational military situation in the man-made disaster area.”

Kherson lies on the Dnipro, about 60km downstream from the Kakhovka dam. 

In a separate post, also accompanied by video footage, the President said he visited a road crossing where people were being evacuated. 

Kherson’s governor had said earlier on Thursday that 600 sq km of the region was underwater – most of it on the Russian-occupied side of the river.

The governor added that nearly 2,000 people had already left affected areas. 

Mr Zelensky said: “It is important to calculate the damage and allocate funds to compensate residents affected by the disaster and develop a programme to compensate for losses or relocate businesses within the Kherson region.”

On Wednesday, he appealed to international organisations and expressed dismay at a lack of help from the United Nations and Red Cross with the fallout from the dam’s destruction. 

“Each person who dies there is a verdict on the existing international architecture and international organisations that have forgotten how to save lives,” he said in his evening address.

Meanwhile, Moscow-installed authorities said five people died in the floods triggered by the dam’s collapse.

“Five people have died as a result of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station disaster. Forty-one people are in hospital,” said a post published by the Moscow-backed administration of Nova Kakhovka, where the dam is located.

Russian state-owned news agency Tass said earlier that around 14,000 houses have been flooded.

Citing the country’s security services, it added that around 4,300 people have been evacuated. REUTERS, AFP