Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba called out international media on June 6 for entertaining Russian narratives about the Kakhovka dam explosion, saying it "puts facts and propaganda on equal footing."
"Infuriating to see some media report 'Kyiv and Moscow accusing each other' of ruining the Kakhovka dam. It puts facts and propaganda on equal footing. Ukraine is facing a huge humanitarian and environmental crisis. Ignoring this fact means playing Russia’s 'not all obvious' game," Kuleba wrote.
Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant’s dam on the morning of June 6, sparking a large-scale humanitarian and environmental disaster across southern Ukraine.
The Moscow-installed mayor in the occupied city of Nova Kakhovka initially downplayed the damage caused to the dam, claiming that it had been caused by Ukrainian shelling.
Environmental damage has already been reported in the immediate aftermath of the dam's destruction.
The President's Office reported that at least 150 tons of motor oil have leaked into the Dnipro River, with an additional 300 tons at risk of leakage.
The destruction of the dam in Kherson Oblast has also resulted in significant flooding, leading to the ongoing evacuation of the civilian population. The Interior Ministry reported that 885 civilians had been evacuated to safety as of 11:00 a.m. local time.
Eighty settlements are located in the immediate flood zone and evacuation efforts are ongoing.
Olena Goncharova
