Ukraine war: Citizens of flooded Kherson are remarkably calm as water levels rise

Published

2 years ago

June 7, 2023

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The torrent of water unleashed by the breaching of the Nova Kakhovka dam has engulfed whole villages, towns, agricultural land and large sections of Kherson city in southern Ukraine.

We watched as the waters rose and rose in Kherson city – sweeping debris, branches, tyres and anything else in its path.

Residents scrambled to leave their flooded homes in safety, sometimes just clutching pets and important documents and very little else.

87-year-old Tamara struggled out of a taxi that drew up along one of the main streets in the city to search for her cats.

“My babies, my babies,” she wailed. “I have to find my babies.”

A cat was handed out of the window of her flat to a relative who was helping her rescue her pets. But, the cat, clearly terrified, wriggled, bit and scratched his handler before leaping to the ground and scarpering down the street.

“She’ll be ok,” Tamara said resignedly. She thinks her neighbour will look after her cat.

“Of course, I’m worried,” she told us, “I’m worried four times over! Who would do this to people and our animals?”

The residents of Kherson have seen it all.

They were one of the first cities to be invaded and taken over by the Russian military – and after the Ukrainians reclaimed it last November, they’ve suffered regular bombing and shelling since.

And now this; the deliberate destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam and the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant which millions rely on for drinking water.

Yet most of the residents we spoke to seemed unphased and are pretty confident they can survive a bit of flooding.

Elena told us as she looked out onto the flooded backyard which was slowly rising to her porch step: “When you’ve lived in Kherson for the past six months, and you’ve lived through the bombing and been scared all the time because of that, the flooding is not so bad.

“So… we just try to keep safe.”

What a life – when you’re weighing up your daily safety and chances of survival between bombings and flooding.

‘Environmental bomb of mass destruction’

The Ukrainians lost no time hitting the social media platforms and blaming the Russians for the dam’s destruction.

There was a chorus of condemnations from the Ukrainian president and his fellow politicians, including the country’s foreign minister who called for an urgent meeting of the UN security council to discuss the dam explosion.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described it as “ecocide” and said it was “an environmental bomb of mass destruction”.

He once again pressed for NATO inclusion to ensure the country’s safety in the future and insisted it would not deter from their aim to reclaim all the territory that Russia has seized through the war.

“We will still liberate all our land” he said in his nightly address.

Russia insists it is not responsible

Dozens of towns and villages in the Russian-controlled area of Kherson region on the other side of the Dnipro River are also underwater and Russian officials have spent the aftermath of the dam explosion insisting they are not responsible.

Russia‘s Investigative Committee said it had launched a criminal investigation into the dam explosion which has been in the Russian-controlled area of Kherson region since the first few weeks of the war.

Flooding is expected to continue to rise through the night and peak in the morning – then remain at those levels for four to five days before receding.

Hoards of volunteers have begun arriving in Kherson city by evening to help with what they expect will be a growing need to evacuate from homes as well as an increased requirement for medicines with dirty water swirling around the city streets and stagnating in basements and across fields.

World

Trump’s USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

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2 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Trump's USAID cuts could lead to 14 million deaths, report warns

Around 14 million people could die across the world over the next five years because of cuts to the US Agency for International Development (USAID), researchers have warned.

Children under five are expected to make up around a third (4.5 million) of the mortalities, according to a study published in The Lancet medical journal.

Estimates showed that “unless the abrupt funding cuts announced and implemented in the first half of 2025 are reversed, a staggering number of avoidable deaths could occur by 2030”.

“Beyond causing millions of avoidable deaths – particularly among the most vulnerable – these cuts risk reversing decades of progress in health and socioeconomic development in LMICs [low and middle-income countries],” the report said.

USAID programmes have prevented the deaths of more than 91 million people, around a third of them among children, the study suggests.

The agency’s work has been linked to a 65% fall in deaths from HIV/AIDS, or 25.5 million people.

Eight million deaths from malaria, more than half the total, around 11 million from diarrheal diseases and nearly five million from tuberculosis (TB), have also been prevented.

USAID has been vital in improving global health, “especially in LMICs, particularly African nations,” according to the report.

Established in 1961, the agency was tasked with providing humanitarian assistance and helping economic growth in developing countries, especially those deemed strategic to Washington.

But the Trump administration has made little secret of its antipathy towards the agency, which became an early victim of cuts carried out by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – formerly led by Elon Musk – in what the US government said was part of a broader plan to remove wasteful spending.

In March, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said more than 80% of USAID schemes had been closed following a six-week review, leaving around 1,000 active.

The US is the world’s largest humanitarian aid donor, providing around $61bn (£44bn) in foreign assistance last year, according to government data, or at least 38% of the total, and USAID is the world’s leading donor for humanitarian and development aid, the report said.

Between 2017 and 2020, the agency responded to more than 240 natural disasters and crises worldwide – and in 2016 it sent food assistance to more than 53 million people across 47 countries.

The study assessed all-age and all-cause mortality rates in 133 countries and territories, including all those classified as low and middle-income, supported by USAID from 2001 to 2021.

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Published

5 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra suspended amid outrage over leaked phone call

Thailand’s prime minister has been suspended after a leaked phone call with a senior Cambodian politician caused outrage.

An ethics investigation into Paetongtarn Shinawatra is under way and she could end up being dismissed.

The country’s constitutional court took up a petition from 36 senators, who claimed dishonesty and a breach of ethical standards, and voted 7 to 2 to suspend her.

The prime minister’s call with Cambodia’s former leader, Hun Sen, sparked public protests after she tried to appease him and criticised a Thai army commander – a taboo move in a country where the military is extremely influential.

Ms Shinawatra was trying to defuse mounting tensions at the border – which in May resulted in the death of one Cambodian soldier.

Thousands of conservative, nationalist protesters held a demo in Bangkok on Saturday to urge her to step down.

Her party is clinging on to power after another group withdrew from their alliance a few weeks ago over the phone call. Calls for a no-confidence vote are likely.

Deputy prime minister Suriya Juangroongruangkit will take over temporarily while the court looks into the case.

The 38-year-old prime minister – Thailand‘s youngest ever leader – has 15 days to respond to the probe. She has apologised and said her approach in the call was a negotiating tactic.

The popularity of her government has slumped recently, with an opinion poll showing an approval rating of 9.2%, down from 30.9% in March.

Ms Shinawatra comes from a wealthy dynasty synonymous with Thai politics.

Her father Thaksin Shinawatra – a former Manchester City owner – and aunt Yingluck Shinawatra served as prime minister before her – in the early to mid 2000s – and their time in office also ended ignominiously amid corruption charges and military coups.

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Published

11 hours ago

July 1, 2025

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Benjamin Netanyahu to meet Donald Trump next week amid calls for Gaza ceasefire

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting Donald Trump next Monday, according to US officials.

The visit on 7 July comes after Mr Trump suggested it was possible a ceasefire in Gaza could be reached within a week.

On Sunday, he wrote on social media: “MAKE THE DEAL IN GAZA. GET THE HOSTAGES BACK!!!”

At least 60 people killed across Gaza on Monday, in what turned out to be some of the heaviest attacks in weeks.

According to the Hamas-run health ministry, 56,500 people have been killed in the 20-month war.

The visit by Mr Netanyahu to Washington has not been formally announced and the officials who said it would be going ahead spoke on condition of anonymity.

An Israeli official in Washington also confirmed the meeting next Monday.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the administration was in constant communication with the Israeli government.

She said Mr Trump viewed ending the war in Gaza and returning remaining hostages held by Hamas as a top priority.

The war in Gaza broke out in retaliation for Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attacks on southern Israel that killed 1,200 people and saw a further 250 taken hostage.

An eight-week ceasefire was reached in the final days of Joe Biden’s US presidency, but Israel resumed the war in March after trying to get Hamas to accept new terms on next steps.

Talks between Israel and Hamas have stalled over whether the war should end as part of any ceasefire.