Ukraine war: Inside Kherson’s flood zone, desperate evacuees are fleeing artillery attacks as well as rising waters
There are several possible war crimes playing out in real-time in southern Ukraine and the world is watching as the tragedy unfolds, following the destruction of a major dam.
We were at one of the flood evacuation points in Kherson when it came under attack – targeting those just rescued; the rescuers; the relief teams and the journalists covering the emergency.
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Ukraine war day 470: Zelenskyy visits Kherson
There was immediate panic as everyone rushed to take cover – scattering against walls, running downstairs to basements and cowering in doorways.
“Everyone move!”, a volunteer shouted to his team. “Prepare to pack up.”
Panic at flood evacuation point – live updates
As they scrambled to carry cages filled with bedraggled, sodden animals to safety, and break down and pack up their temporary food and water shelters, the attacks kept coming in – an artillery barrage and rockets levelled at aid workers, as well as the scared and the desperate who they were caring for.
We saw two volunteers trying to carry one of their few dinghies being used in the rescue efforts – before dropping it and running as another rocket screamed overhead.
Hours earlier, the Ukrainian leader visited one of the evacuation points in Kherson to support the relief effort.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has already urged global leaders to do more to rally around and help, castigating the international organisations for what he deems as their sluggish response.
‘I’m not afraid of anything anymore’
The same evacuation point came under repeated attack after he left.
We were given footage filmed by one soldier as they took an injured civilian to safety on a stretcher.
Frail old women were shepherded to shelter along walls as the ominous sounds of an artillery barrage rumbled on.
But 74-year-old Larissa brushed it all off.
Dogs were rescued from the flooding
“They bombed my apartment before new year,” she told us. “We’ve been through it all. I’m not afraid of anything anymore.”
The first flooding deaths are now being reported.
Tragically, they will not be the last.
Ukrainian media said three people had died in the Kherson region as a result of flooding.
But the Ukrainian president has pointed out it is “impossible to predict how many people will die” in the Russian-controlled areas of Kherson.
Reports from those who have managed to flee from there to the Ukrainian side told us the Russian troops appeared as shocked as they were at the dam explosion and subsequent floods.
They said the Russian troops told them they expected to be evacuated.
But when that didn’t happen, the residents saw some of the Russian troops swimming to get away.
Tearful reunions interrupted by attacks
A family of six, including two children and a kitten, wept with relief at being reunited with their relatives on the Ukrainian-held side of Kherson.
They told of sheltering in the loft of their home in the Russian-occupied village of Kardashynka until their whole house started crumbling as the waters kept rising.
“You’re home. You’re home,” their waiting relative said repeatedly as she hugged them over and over.
The family thought they had fled to safety in Ukrainian territory – surviving shelling, the flood zone and currents to make it to the other side.
But a short time later, all those newly rescued, as well as those trying to help them, came under multiple and random attacks.
This is a war zone.
The waters have washed over entire areas of the battlefield.
The Ukrainian rescue operation is going on in the midst of artillery fire and shelling – and the threat of mines.
We’ve spent the last few days since the Nova Kakhova dam burst – and sent a torrent of water cascading either side of the Dnipro river – witnessing the devastation and desperation it has already wrought on humans, animals and the landscape.
The Ukrainian president says there may be about 100 communities, villages and towns, including Kherson city, affected.
Aerial pictures taken from several drones show huge swathes of what were once residential areas now underwater – covered in sewage and debris, mixed with chemicals and toxins and there are reports of oil too.
President Zelenskyy first described it as “ecocide” – then an environmental bomb of mass destruction.
He may well be underestimating the massive effect this is going to have on the land, countryside and people.
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Did Russia ‘blow the dam’ early?
A horrifyingly slow misery
It’s actually difficult to overstate just how much of a tragedy this is – and the full scale of what’s happened will probably not be felt or even properly assessed for some time.
Immediately though, right in front of us, on an hourly basis, we are seeing the human and animal suffering and cost.
But it’s a slow, drawn-out misery.
Depressingly, horrifyingly slow.
The steady filling-up of streets is even taking the residents by surprise.
The waters keep rising – for the first 12 or so hours by 10-12cm per hour.
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What impact will dam disaster have?
Satellite images reveal scale of destruction
By yesterday, that had slowed to 1-2cm an hour.
The waters are expected to stay high for another four to five days, though.
And the average flood level of the water is about 5.6 metres (about 18ft), according to the governor of Kherson Oblast.
That’s enough to cover the tops of street signs and reach the tip of roofs.
The residents have been living in areas where the rumble of artillery and mortar firing, of explosions and shells dropping, has been a constant, frightening, deadly backdrop.
And those who have stuck it out, those who have resolutely refused to be pushed out by the fighting and war – and then refused to budge because of the flooding – are now coming under fire as they finally give up their homes to the rising waters.
We saw videos filmed by the rescuers themselves showing the waters around them punctured by artillery strikes throwing huge showers of water into the air as they tried to keep their balance on tiny dinghies, clutching to still-visible rooftops peeking out from the waters.
It’s difficult to imagine it getting much more frightening or miserable for these people.
Alex Crawford is reporting from Kherson, with cameraman Jake Britton and producers Chris Cunningham and Artem Lysak
Israeli forces killed two Palestinian men in the West Bank after they appeared to be surrendering.
Palestinians said the killings, which were captured on video and shown on two Arab TV channels, were carried out “in cold blood”.
In the video, the men were seen exiting a building and lying on the ground in front of Israeli forces in the northern West Bank city of Jenin.
Both men lifted their T-shirts and held their hands in the air, apparently to show they were not carrying weapons or explosives.
The soldiers then appeared to order the men back inside the building before they were shot.
A Reuters journalist in the area saw the men leave the building, appearing to surrender, and later, after hearing shots fired, saw Israeli forces standing near what appeared to be a lifeless body.
The men were identified as al Muntasir Abdullah, 26, and Yousef Asasa, 37, by Palestinian authorities.
Footage of the incident has been broadcast on Arab TV channels
What has Israel said about the incident?
A joint statement between the Israeli Defence Forces and Israeli police said: “Earlier this evening (Thursday), during an Israel Border Police and IDF operation in the area of Jenin, the forces operated to apprehend wanted individuals who had carried out terror activities, including hurling explosives and firing at security forces.
“The wanted individuals were affiliated with a terror network in the area of Jenin.
“The forces entered the area, enclosed the structure in which the suspects were located, and initiated a surrender procedure that lasted several hours. Following the use of engineering tools on the structure, the two suspects exited.
“Following their exit, fire was directed toward the suspects.
“The incident is under review by the commanders on the ground, and will be transferred to the relevant professional bodies.”
Israel’s far-right national security minister Itamar Ben-Gvir said the military and police unit involved in the shooting had his “full backing”.
“The fighters acted exactly as expected of them – terrorists should die!” he wrote on X.
A Reuters journalist captured images from near the scene. Pic: Reuters
‘An outright extrajudicial killing’
But Palestinians and human rights groups say Israeli investigations in such incidents yield few results, with Israeli troops rarely prosecuted.
The Palestinian prime minister’s office in Ramallah also accused Israel of executing the men “in cold blood”, calling the shooting “an outright extrajudicial killing in blatant violation of international humanitarian law”.
Yuli Novak, the executive director of B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights organisation, said: “The execution documented today is the result of an accelerated process of dehumanisation of Palestinians and the complete abandonment of their lives by the Israeli regime.
“In Israel, there is no mechanism that acts to stop the killing of Palestinians or is capable of prosecuting those responsible.”
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Israel’s military has scaled up its military operations in the West Bank since the October 7 Hamas attack, which triggered the war in Gaza.
Since October 2023, Israeli forces and settlers have killed more than 1,000 Palestinians in the West Bank, according to B’Tselem, which said the perpetrators were “granted full impunity by Israel”.
Donald Trump has warned US action against suspected Venezuelan drug traffickers will move to the land “very soon”.
American forces have carried out at least 21 strikes on boats it claims were carrying narcotics to its shores over the last few months.
The US has accused the South American country’s president, Nicolas Maduro, of being involved in the drugs trade – a claim he denies.
Venezuela has said the attacks, which have killed more than 80 people, amount to murder.
Mr Trump made the comments while in Florida for Thanksgiving. Pic: Reuters
‘We warned them,’ says Trump
America’s most advanced aircraft carrier is among the ships that have been deployed to the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific as part of Operation Southern Spear.
Mr Trump said on Thursday he was preparing to significantly ramp up the response.
“You probably noticed that people aren’t wanting to be delivering by sea, and we’ll be starting to stop them by land also,” he told military service members in a call.
“The land is easier, but that’s going to start very soon.”
“We warned them to stop sending poison to our country,” Mr Trump added.
The US has released videos of boats being targeted, but hasn’t provided evidence – such as photos of their cargo – to support the smuggling claims.
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Three killed as US strikes another alleged drug boat
Even if the boats are cartel vessels, Sky’s chief correspondent Stuart Ramsay says the final destination for the drugs is likely to be Europe and West Africa.
The Pentagon has sought to justify the strikes by labelling the drug gangs as foreign terrorist organisations – putting them on par with the likes of al Qaeda and Hamas.
This week it formally designated Cartel de los Soles (Cartel of the Suns) as such, and said the group was headed by Mr Maduro and “other high-ranking individuals” from his regime.
Another Venezuelan drugs group, Tren de Aragua, was designated a terror organisation by the US in January.
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Venezuelan president dances to speech remix
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The US-Venezuela crisis explained
Mr Maduro – seen by most countries as a dictator who’s cheated elections – has accused the US of “fabricating” a war to overthrow him and install a more favourable government.
Venezuelan officials have also claimed Mr Trump’s true motivation is access to the country’s plentiful oil reserves and other natural resources such as gold and diamonds.
Experts say Mr Maduro, 63, could use oil as a bargaining chip in any future negotiations.
Mr Trump has said previously he would be open to talks – but that prospect seems unlikely, with the Venezuelan leader wielding a sword this week as he vowed to “defend every inch of this blessed land from imperialist threat”.
World
Swiss tourist killed in Australia shark attack – as partner in critical condition after fighting to save her
A Swiss woman has died in a shark attack in Australia – with her partner in a critical condition after trying to save her.
It happened on Thursday at Kylies Beach in Crowdy Bay, near Port Macquarie, about 218 miles (350km) north of Sydney.
Police said a passer-by who made a tourniquet to stem the man’s bleeding had probably saved his life.
Switzerland’s foreign affairs office didn’t name the victims – who are both believed to be in their 20s – but confirmed they were Swiss citizens.
The pair are said to have arrived the night before, camping nearby before going for a swim with dolphins at dawn – a time when sharks are more active.
The man suffered major wounds to his thigh after trying to fight off the shark and dragging his partner more than 50m back to shore, reported Sky News Australia.
The woman died on the sand but call handlers instructed the passer-by how to fashion a tourniquet from a swimsuit in order to treat the man.
Early assessments indicate a bull shark may be responsible. File pic: iStock
New South Wales Ambulance superintendent Josh Smyth said the backpacker’s quick thinking was “heroic” and created valuable time for them to reach the remote, unpatrolled beach.
Sky News Australia said initial indications are a large, mature bull shark may be responsible.
The beach has been closed while drones scour the area and drumlines have been laid in the hope of capturing the shark.
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Authorities are also reportedly reviewing “harrowing footage” captured by the couple before the attack that could reveal more about what happened.
The man remains in a critical condition after being airlifted to hospital.
The attack comes two months after a man was killed by a shark, believed to be a great white, while surfing at a popular Sydney beach.
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