Kakhovka dam explosion: 1700 residents of Kherson region are evacuated, Russia launches hacker attack on hotline software

Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of Kherson regional military administration, reports this. 

“The evacuation of the population continues, the situation is under control. As of 1:00 pm, 1700 people have been evacuated. At the same time, the Russian forces continue shelling residential areas, exposing people who are rescuing and fleeing to mortal danger,” said the head of the region.

At the same time, rescuers evacuated animals trapped in water.

It is reported that today a hacker attack was carried out on the software of the regional military administration's hotline, where people seek help with evacuation. Yesterday alone, this line received 528 calls.

Experts have now restored the hotline. In case of any malfunctions, people are advised to call the emergency services.

According to him, the intensity of flooding is decreasing.

“The intensity of flooding is decreasing, with no extraordinary events recorded during the night. However, due to significant damage to the dam, water will continue to come. We anticipate a further one-meter increase in the water level over the next 20 hours,” Prokudin states. 

He also informed that water has started to reach the Bilozerka community. 

The current situation reports 1,852 flooded houses on the right bank of the Kherson region, with 13 people, including 5 residents from the left bank, seeking assistance from the administration during the night. 

Prokudin stated that “as of 6 a.m., a total of 1,457 individuals had been evacuated, including 1,286 people from the Korabel neighborhood. Ten people were assisted in their evacuation in the morning.”

On Espreso TV, the mayor of Nova Kakhovka, Volodymyr Kovalenko, said: “The water level has stopped rising, and in some areas, such as Pershotravneva Street, the water has receded.”

Instead, employees of the State Emergency Service note that 52 people were rescued over the past day, including 2 children.

“We continue to work and eliminate the consequences of Russian terror. Almost 800 people and more than 170 pieces of equipment of Ukraine's State Emergency Service are currently engaged,” said Serhiy Kruk, head of the State Emergency Service.

He also noted that, if necessary, the State Emergency Service is ready to engage another 250 personnel and more than 60 pieces of equipment that are currently in reserve.

Flooding situation in the Mykolaiv region

Ivan Kukhta, head of the Snihurivka City Military Administration, reports that as a result of the dam explosion, bridges in the Snihurivka district of the Mykolaiv region were destroyed and flooded.

“Information as of 07:00 am. The bridge in the village of Yelyzavetivka is destroyed. The village of Halahanivka is completely flooded. Currently, the connection between Snihurivka and Vasylivka, Yevhenivka, Pavlivka and Tamaryne is open. The video shows the bridge near Novovasylivka,” Kukhta wrote.

As of 4:00 pm, the bridge crossing near the village of Vasylivka is completely flooded, and traffic is stopped.

It is noted that residents of 3 houses are being evacuated in the community, 43 gardens are flooded, and water is coming to the houses.

Mykolaiv regional council deputy Viktoria Moskalenko told Espreso that according to forecasts, there is no threat of flooding in Mykolaiv as of this morning.

“There are forecasts of flooding of three settlements on the Kinburn Spit. It belongs to the Sviatoslav National Park, so it is at risk of becoming an island rather than a peninsula if the water rises by more than 5 meters. No one is nearby and cannot assess the dam's flooding and whether water will continue to leak,” she said.

Kakhovka dam explosion

On June 6, occupying Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, completely destroying it. The evacuation of residents of the flooded areas began. After that, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy convened an emergency meeting of the Security and Defense Council, and the world began to respond to the tragedy. Follow the detailed course of events here.

In particular, Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has allocated UAH 1.5 billion to build two new water mains that will help supply Kryvyi Rih, Nikopol and Marhanets with drinking water. In addition, the Kherson, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro regions were allocated almost UAH 846 million to meet the regions' drinking water needs.

And a number of Ukrainian cities have declared their readiness to accept southerners.

Instead, Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev, commander of the AFU Joint Forces, said that the occupiers' blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant would not affect the Ukrainian counteroffensive. And the Kyiv HPP is covered from air strikes and protected from enemy subversive reconnaissance groups.

For his part, Ukrhydroenergo CEO Ihor Syrota said that the peak of the water spill from the Kakhovka reservoir is expected in the morning of June 7. According to him, after that the situation will begin to stabilize, and in 4-5 days the water will start to subside.

And the President of Ukraine held a meeting of the supreme military command to discuss the situation at the front, readiness for a counteroffensive, and the Russian explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. He emphasized that Russia had mined the dam of the hydroelectric power plant last year, and Ukraine was ready for the explosion.

In addition, Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed the consequences of the hydroelectric power plant explosion and the risks to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with the IAEA Director General and invited him to Ukraine.

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy has estimated that about 10,000 hectares of agricultural land on the right bank will be flooded as a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP.

On the evening of June 6, the UN Security Council met to discuss the situation that arose after Russian troops blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam. Ukraine's permanent representative to the UN, Sergiy Kyslytsya, said that by blowing up the hydroelectric power plant, the Russians had proved that they were unable to hold the temporarily occupied territories. In turn, the UN Under-Secretary-General emphasized that the explosion of the hydroelectric power plant would have far-reaching consequences for many thousands of people.

US President Joe Biden also responded to the tragedy. He assured of his support and assistance to Ukraine.