Floodwaters engulf more areas of southern Ukraine after dam breach as hundreds evacuated

Update Floodwaters engulf more areas of southern Ukraine after dam breach as hundreds evacuated
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A resident swims by a house in a flooded area in Kherson on June 7, 2023, following the destruction of Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam. (AFP)
Update This photo released by the state-owned company Ukrhydroenergo shows the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam which was damaged in Nova Kakhovka, near Kherson, on June 6, 2023. (AFP)
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This photo released by the state-owned company Ukrhydroenergo shows the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam which was damaged in Nova Kakhovka, near Kherson, on June 6, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 07 June 2023
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Floodwaters engulf more areas of southern Ukraine after dam breach as hundreds evacuated

Floodwaters engulf more areas of southern Ukraine after dam breach as hundreds evacuated
  • A day after the dam’s collapse, it remained unclear what caused it.

KHERSON, Ukraine: Floodwaters from a collapsed dam kept rising in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes in a major emergency operation that brought a dramatic new dimension to the war with Russia, now in its 16th month.

Amid the disaster response, artillery shelling rang out as people scrambled to get out of the danger zone, climbing onto military trucks or rafts.

A day after the dam’s collapse, it remained unclear what caused it. Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the dam wall, while Russia blamed Ukrainian shelling for the breach. Some experts said the collapse may have been an accident caused by wartime damage and neglect, although others said this was unlikely and argued that Russia might have had tactical military reasons to destroy the dam.

The flood’s force was expected to slacken as the day wore on, officials said Wednesday, but water levels were expected to rise by another meter (about 3 feet) over the following 20 hours and engulf more downriver areas along the banks of the Dnieper.

The Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and reservoir, one of the largest in the world and essential for the supply of drinking water and irrigation to a huge area of southern Ukraine, lies in a part of the Kherson region occupied by the Kremlin’s forces for the past year. The Dnieper River separates the warring sides there.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday accused Moscow of “deliberate destruction” of the dam.

“Hundreds of thousands of people were left without normal access to drinking water,” he said in a Telegram post.

Some local residents spent the night on rooftops. Others, scrambling to flee the rising waters, were evacuated by buses and trains with the belongings they could carry.

“The intensity of floods is slightly decreasing,” Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of Kherson Regional Military administration, said in a video. “However, due to the significant destruction of the dam, the water will keep coming.”

He said more than 1,800 houses were flooded along the Dnieper and that almost 1,500 people had been evacuated.

Residents sloshed through knee-deep waters in inundated homes as videos posted on social media showed scenes including rescue workers carrying people to safety, and what looked like the triangular roof of an entire building that had been uprooted drifting downstream. Footage taken from the air showed waters filling the streets of the Russian-controlled city of Nova Kakhovska on the eastern side of the river.

Nova Kakhovska’s Russia-appointed mayor, Vladimir Leontyev, said seven people were missing but early signs indicated that they could be alive. Officials in Russia-controlled parts of Kherson region said 900 Nova Kalhovka residents were evacuated, including 17 rescued from the tops of flooded buildings.

Addressing who might be to blame, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, noted its earlier assessment that “the Russians have a greater and clearer interest in flooding the lower Dnieper despite the damage to their own prepared defensive positions.”

Amid speculation that Ukraine may have secretly started its long-anticipated counteroffensive, the ISW said Russian forces may think breaching the dam could cover a possible retreat and delay Ukraine’s push.

Experts noted that the dam, about 70 kilometers to the east of the city of Kherson, was believed to be in disrepair and vulnerable to collapse as water was already brimming over when the wall gave way. It hadn’t been producing power since November, according to officials.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense, which has regularly issued updates about the war, said the Kakhovka reservoir was at “record high” water levels before the breach. While the dam wasn’t entirely washed away, the ministry warned that its structure “is likely to deteriorate further over the next few days, causing additional flooding.”

The dam helps provide irrigation and drinking water to a wide swath of southern Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Underscoring the war’s global repercussions, wheat prices jumped 3 percent after the collapse. Ukraine and Russia are key global suppliers of wheat, barley, sunflower oil and other food to Africa, the Middle East and parts of Asia.

Both sides warned of a looming environmental disaster from polluted waters, partly caused by oil leaking from the dam’s machinery. The empty reservoir could later deprive farmland of irrigation.

Officials from Russia and Ukraine, and the UN, have said that the damage will take days to assess, and warned of a long recovery period.


Ukraine targets a key Crimean city a day after striking Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters

Ukraine targets a key Crimean city a day after striking Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters
Updated 4 sec ago
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Ukraine targets a key Crimean city a day after striking Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters

Ukraine targets a key Crimean city a day after striking Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters
KYIV: Ukraine on Saturday morning launched another missile attack on Sevastopol on the occupied Crimean Peninsula, a Russian-installed official said, a day after an attack on the headquarters of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet that left a serviceman missing and the main building smoldering.
Sevastopol was put under an air raid alert for about an hour after debris from intercepted missiles fell near a pier, Gov. Mikhail Razvozhayev wrote on the messaging app Telegram. Ferry traffic in the area was also halted and later resumed.
Loud blasts were also heard near Vilne in northern Crimea, followed by rising clouds of smoke, according to a pro-Ukraine Telegram news channel that reports on developments on the peninsula. Crimea, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, has been a frequent target for Ukrainian forces since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of the neighboring country in February 2022.
Ukraine’s intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Voice of America on Saturday that at least nine people were killed and 16 others wounded as a result of Kyiv’s attack on the Black Sea Fleet on Friday. He claimed that Alexander Romanchuk, a Russian general commanding forces along the key southeastern front line, was “in a very serious condition” following the attack.
Budanov’s claim couldn’t be independently verified, and he didn’t comment on whether Western-made missiles were used in Friday’s attack. The Russian Defense Ministry initially said that the strike killed one service member at the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, but later issued a statement that he was missing.
Ukraine’s military also offered more details about Friday’s attack. It said the air force conducted 12 strikes on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters, targeting areas where personnel, military equipment and weapons were concentrated. It said that two anti-aircraft missile systems and four Russian artillery units were hit.
Crimea has served as the key hub supporting Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Sevastopol, the main base of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet since the 19th century, has had a particular importance for navy operations since the start of the war.
Ukraine has increasingly targeted naval facilities in Crimea in recent weeks while the brunt of its summer counteroffensive makes slow gains in the east and south of Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War said. Military experts say it is essential for Ukraine to keep up its attacks on targets in Crimea to degrade Russian morale and weaken its military.
In other developments, US President Joe Biden told his Ukrainian counterpart at their White House meeting Thursday that the US would give Ukraine a version of the longer-range ATACMS ballistic missiles, without specifying how many or when they would be delivered, according to two US officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the matter before an official announcement.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and other Ukrainian leaders have long pushed the US and other Western allies to provide longer-distance weapons that would enable Kyiv to ramp up its strikes behind Russian lines while themselves staying out of firing range.
The US has balked so far, worried that Kyiv could use the weapons to hit deep into Russian territory and escalate the conflict. The Army Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, could give Ukraine the ability to strike Russian targets from as far away as about 180 miles (300 kilometers), but the US also has other variants of the missile that have a shorter range.
Elsewhere, Ukraine’s military said Saturday that Russia launched 15 Iranian-made Shahed drones at the front-line Zaporizhzhia region in the southeast, as well as Dnipropetrovsk province farther north. It claimed to have destroyed 14 of the drones.
Separately, Zaporizhzhia regional Gov. Yuri Malashko said that Russia over the previous day carried out 86 strikes on 27 settlements in the province, many of them lying only a few kilometers (miles) from the fighting. Malashko said that an 82-year-old civilian was killed by artillery fire.
In the neighboring Kherson region, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said at least one person died and three other people were wounded over the past day because of Russian shelling. Russia fired 25 shells targeting the city of Kherson, which lies along the Dneiper River that marks the contact line between the warring sides, Prokudin said.
Residential quarters were hit, including medical and education institutions, government-built stations that serve food and drinks, as well as critical infrastructure facilities and a penitentiary, he said.

Trudeau pledges Canada’s support for Ukraine and punishment for Russia

Trudeau pledges Canada’s support for Ukraine and punishment for Russia
Updated 52 min 39 sec ago
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Trudeau pledges Canada’s support for Ukraine and punishment for Russia

Trudeau pledges Canada’s support for Ukraine and punishment for Russia
  • “We’re continuing to impose costs on Russia and ensuring that those responsible for this illegal, unjustifiable invasion do not benefit from it,” Trudeau said
  • Canada and Ukraine agreed to establish a working group with G7 partners to study seizure and forfeiture of Russian assets

OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced several support measures for Ukraine, including military, economic and humanitarian assistance, while also pledging an additional show of diplomatic backing through steps intended to punish Russia over the war.
“We’re continuing to impose costs on Russia and ensuring that those responsible for this illegal, unjustifiable invasion do not benefit from it,” Trudeau said Friday during a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Ottawa, the Canadian capital.
Zelensky also addressed Canada’s Parliament on Friday. He flew into Ottawa late Thursday after meetings with US President Joe Biden and lawmakers in Washington. He spoke at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.
Canada and Ukraine agreed to establish a working group with G7 partners to study seizure and forfeiture of Russian assets, including from the Russian Central Bank, Trudeau said.
Canada also added 63 Russian individuals and entities to the country’s sanctions list, including “those complicit in the kidnapping of children and the spreading of disinformation,” Trudeau said.
Canada’s pledge to stand with Ukraine will include $650 million in new military assistance over the next three years, Trudeau said.
Canada will provide Ukraine with 50 armored vehicles, including armored medical evacuation vehicles built in London, Ontario. Pilot and maintenance instructors for F-16 fighter jets, support for Leopard 2 battle tank maintenance, 35 drones with high-resolution cameras, light vehicles and ammunition are part of the intended support package, Trudeau said.
The multiyear support also will include a financial contribution to a UK-led consortium delivering air defense equipment to Ukraine, Trudeau said.
Canada’s monetary support will continue into the 2024 fiscal year, while the governments also have signed a free trade agreement, Trudeau said.
Other assistance for nongovernmental organizations and Ukraine’s government will include measures to improve “cyber resilience,” rebuild local infrastructure and assist farmers. Canada also plans to contribute funds for Ukraine’s national war memorial and money to increase the availability of mental health support at the appropriate time, he said.
“We stand here absolutely united in our defense of democracy and our condemnation of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked, unjustified and unconscionable invasion of Ukraine,” Trudeau said.


Truck bomb kills at least 10 in Somalia

Truck bomb kills at least 10 in Somalia
Updated 23 September 2023
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Truck bomb kills at least 10 in Somalia

Truck bomb kills at least 10 in Somalia
  • It was not immediately clear who was responsible, but Al Shabab frequently carries out bombings in the Horn of Africa country
  • “So far I have seen 10 dead people including soldiers and civilians,” said police officer Ahmed Aden

MOGADISHU: A truck bomb exploded at a checkpoint in the central Somali town of Beledweyne on Saturday, killing at least 10 people and obliterating nearby buildings, a police officer said.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible, but Al Shabab frequently carries out bombings in the Horn of Africa country.
“So far I have seen 10 dead people including soldiers and civilians and over a dozen others injured, but the death toll is sure to rise,” police officer Ahmed Aden told Reuters.
Beledweyne is in central Somalia’s Hiran region which has recently witnessed battles between the military and Al-Shabab.
Aden said the dead included five police officers who fired on the truck in a failed attempt to stop it ramming the checkpoint. Nearby buildings and shops were reduced to rubble, along with the checkpoint, he added.
A woman, Halima Nur, who was near the site, told Reuters her niece and others had been in a nearby shop and could not be reached. “I do not know what to say, all the kiosks are now just rubble. I can’t trace my niece,” she said.
Al Shabab has been battling Somalia’s central government for more than a decade, aiming to establish its rule based on strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.


Russia says Karabakh Armenian fighters start giving up arms

Russia says Karabakh Armenian fighters start giving up arms
Updated 23 September 2023
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Russia says Karabakh Armenian fighters start giving up arms

Russia says Karabakh Armenian fighters start giving up arms
  • “The armed formations of Karabakh have begun handing over weapons and military equipment under the control of Russian peacekeepers,” said Russia
  • Six armored vehicles, more than 800 guns, about 5,000 units of ammunition were handed over by the fighters

NEAR KORNIDZOR, Armenia: Russia said that Armenian fighters in the breakaway region of Nagorno Karabakh had started to give up arms as some humanitarian aid reached the 120,000 Armenians there who say the world has abandoned them after Azerbaijan defeated their forces.
The Armenians of Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, were forced to declare a cease-fire on Sept. 20 after a lightning 24-hour military operation by the much larger Azerbaijani military.
“The armed formations of Karabakh have begun handing over weapons and military equipment under the control of Russian peacekeepers,” said Russia, which has around 2,000 peacekeepers in Karabakh.
Russia’s defense ministry said so far six armored vehicles, more than 800 guns, about 5,000 units of ammunition were handed over by the fighters.
Russia said it had delivered more than 50 tons of food and other aid.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had supplied 28,000 diapers as well as blankets and fuel. An ICRC aid convoy reached the border headed toward Karabakh late on Saturday afternoon, Reuters witness said, the first since Azerbaijan retook the region.
The future of Karabakh and its 120,000 ethnic Armenians now hangs in the balance: Azerbaijan wants to integrate the long-contested region, but ethnic Armenians say they fear they will be persecuted and have accused the world of abandoning them.
Armenians in Karabakh told Reuters that they were essentially besieged in the region, with little food, electricity or fuel — and called on big powers to help them.
Azerbaijan envisages an amnesty for Karabakh Armenian fighters who give up their arms and has said the Armenians can leave the region for Armenia if they want.
Armenia, which lost a 2020 war to Azerbaijan over the region, has set up space for tens of thousands of Armenians from Karabakh, though Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan says he does not want them to leave their homes unless it is absolutely necessary.
US Senator Gary Peters, leading a congressional delegation to the Armenia-Azerbaijan border on Saturday, said the situation required international observers and transparency from Azerbaijan.
“I think the world needs to know exactly what’s happening in there,” Peters, a Democrat from Michigan, told reporters. “We’ve heard from the Azerbaijani government that there’s nothing to see, nothing to worry about, but if that’s the case then we should allow international observers in to see.”
“I think there needs to be some visibility,” he said.

’ABANDONED’
Azerbaijan began its “anti-terrorist” operation on Tuesday against Nagorno-Karabakh after some of its troops were killed in what Baku said were attacks from the mountainous region.
The United States said it was deeply concerned by “Azerbaijan’s military actions.”
Accounts of the fighting were chilling.
Armenui Karapetyan, an Armenian in Karabakh, said he was now homeless, holding just a few possessions and a photograph of his 24-year-old son who died in 2020, after leaving his home in the village of Kusapat.
“Today we were thrown out into the street — they made us vagabonds,” Karapetyan told Armenia A1+, a partner of Reuters.
“What can I say? We live in an unfair, abandoned world. I have nothing to say. I feel sorry for the blood of our boys. I feel sorry for our lands for which our boys sacrificed their lives, and today... I miss the grave of my son.”
Thousands of Karabakh Armenians have massed at the airport seeking the protection of Russian peacekeepers there.
Svetlana Alaverdyan, from the village of Arajadzor, said she had fled with just the clothes on her back after gun fights gripped the village.
“They were shooting on the right, they were shooting on the left — we went out one after another, without taking clothes,” she told Armenia A1+.
“I had two sons — I gave them away, what else can I give? The superpowers resolve their issues at our expense.”


Gunmen kidnap dozens in Nigerian university: sources

Gunmen kidnap dozens in Nigerian university: sources
Updated 23 September 2023
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Gunmen kidnap dozens in Nigerian university: sources

Gunmen kidnap dozens in Nigerian university: sources
  • Dozens of gunmen from criminal gangs called bandits stormed Sabon Gida village on the edge of a Federal University
  • They took away at least 24 female students from the hostels along with two male neighbors, one of whom is a staff (member) of the university

KANO, Nigeria: Gunmen have kidnapped more than 30 people, including at least 24 female students, in a raid in and around a university in northwest Nigeria’s Zamfara state, residents said Saturday.
Dozens of gunmen from criminal gangs called bandits stormed Sabon Gida village on the edge of a Federal University outside the state capital Gusau in a predawn attack on Friday breaking into three female hostels and taking away the occupants, residents told AFP.
The attack was the first mass kidnapping at a college since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu came to power, promising to tackle the country’s security challenges.
“The bandits rode into the village on motorcycles and broke into the hostels and gained access into rooms by bringing down the windows,” Sabon Gida resident Sahabi Musa said.
“They took away at least 24 female students from the hostels along with two male neighbors, one of whom is a staff (member) of the university,” said Musa, who lives close to the hostels.
The attackers went into the university and seized nine welders working on a new building while they were sleeping, said Shehu Hashimu, another resident who corroborated Musa’s account.
One of the welders managed to escape and returned to the school, Hashimu said.
Troops deployed from Gusau, 20 kilometers away and engaged the attackers in a gunfight but a group of the kidnappers herded the hostages away while another group faced the soldiers, the two sources said.
“The attackers had a field day. They operated in the village from 3:00 am to 6:00 am unchallenged before troops arrived,” Hashimu said.
A video shared online after the assault showed ransacked rooms in one of the hostels with their windows pulled down.
Yazid Abubakar, Zamfara state police spokesman, confirmed the attack but declined to provide details, saying security personnel were working to free the captives.
A military officer said a military operation was under way as soldiers were confronting the attackers in a forest close to the nearby town of Tsafe.
“Six of the female students have been rescued by troops who pursued the terrorists into the forest,” said the officer, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak on the operation.
Zamfara is one of several states in northwestern and central Nigeria terrorized by bandits who raid villages, kill and abduct residents as well as burn homes after looting them.
The gangs maintain camps in a huge forest straddling Zamfara, Katsina, Kaduna and Niger states.
The criminals have been notorious for mass kidnappings of students from schools in recent years.
In February 2021, bandits raided a girl’s boarding school in the town of Jangebe in Zamfara state, kidnapping more than 300 students.
The girls were freed days later following a ransom payment by the authorities.
Nigeria is facing a myriad of security challenges, including a 14-year militant insurgency in the northeast that has killed at least 40,000 people and forced more than two million others to flee their homes.