In yet another act of criminality, Russia is blocking aid offered by the United Nations for people suffering from the massive flooding caused by Russian war criminals' destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam on June 4. The dam was destroyed to complicate Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south by cutting off wide swaths of land due to flooding. Aljazeera reports:
"Moscow has rejected United Nations’ offers to help people in Russian-occupied areas affected by flooding from the collapsed Nova Kakhovka Dam.
The dam was breached on June 6, unleashing a wave of water from the Dnipro River on communities across southern Ukraine including Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson region.
The floods destroyed homes and farmland, forced the evacuation of thousands, contaminated supplies of drinking water and sparked fears of environmental disaster.
The UN urged Russia to act in accordance with its obligations under international humanitarian law." (our emphasis)
Moscow has already shown it has no respect for international law with its invasions of neighboring Ukraine in 2014 and 2022, and Georgia in 2008. There have also been reports that Russian snipers have been targeting relief efforts. While the Kremlin denies responsibility for the dam's destruction, they have been the beneficiaries of the flooding which occurred just as Ukraine was launching its counteroffensive:
"Ukraine accuses Russia of blowing up the Soviet-era dam, which has been under Russian control since the early days of its full-scale invasion in 2022.
A team of international legal experts assisting Ukraine’s prosecutors in their investigation said it was 'highly likely' the dam’s collapse was caused by explosives planted by the Russians.
The Associated Press news agency reported Russia had 'the means, motive and opportunity' to destroy the dam, citing drone photos and information from military and political sources in the area.
Russia has accused Ukraine of causing the dam breach but the various Russian allegations, including that it was hit by a missile, fail to account for a blast so strong that it registered on seismic monitors in the region.
The massive flooding that followed the explosion came as Ukraine was preparing to launch its counteroffensive and the Dnipro River forms the front line.
'It’s a regular practice, to mine (places) before a retreat,' Illia Zelinskyi, commander of Bugskiy Gard told the AP, recounting how the rising waters rapidly swamped their positions. 'In this context, their actions were to disrupt some of our supply chains as well as complicate a crossing of the Dnieper [Dnipro] for us.'” (our emphasis)
Add compensation for the destruction of property and lives from this flood to the list of reparations that Russia must be forced to pay for its criminal war in Ukraine.
(photo: Flooding in Ukraine caused by Russia's dam destruction/ Reuters)
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