The United Nations has accused Russia of denying access to aid workers seeking to help people “affected by the devastating destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine.”
In a statement, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Denise Brown said the organization had spoken to the governments of Ukraine and Russia to follow up on the June 6 disaster that caused widespread flooding in the southern Kherson region to provide “humanitarian aid” .
However, “the government of the Russian Federation has so far rejected our request for access to the areas under its temporary military control,” she said, noting that the United Nations “urges the Russian authorities to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law.” to act”. .
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
“Aid cannot be denied to people who need it,” Brown added. “The United Nations will continue to do everything in its power to reach out to all people – including those suffering from the recent dam destruction – who need urgent life-saving assistance, wherever they are.”
REPORTER’S NOTEBOOK: RETURN TO UKRAINE, WHERE ‘tragedy continues to touch everyone’
Ukrainian soldiers arrive by boat along with civilians on Friday, June 9, during the evacuation from the flooded village of Kardashynka on the left bank of the Dnipro River near Kherson, Ukraine. (AP/Evgeniy Maloletka)
On Monday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that UN aid workers who want to visit the areas devastated by the recent dam rupture could not go there because fighting during the war made safety there unsafe.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
According to the Associated Press, Peskov did not specifically admit that Russia had blocked UN access, but said on a conference call with reporters that Ukrainian attacks made a visit too risky. The dam is on the Dnieper River, which forms the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces on the east and west banks respectively.
“There has been constant shelling, constant provocations, civilian facilities and civilians have been under fire, people have died, so it’s really difficult to ensure their safety,” Peskov reportedly said.
Ukraine claims that an intercepted call proves that the Russian “sabotage group” blew up the Kakhovka dam
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
This photo, taken on May 28, 2023 by the Ukrainian military drone, shows a car apparently loaded with explosives on the Kakhovka Dam. (Ukrainian military via AP)
Some civilians in the flooded areas claim that evacuees were asked to show Russian passports if they wanted to leave.
Meanwhile, the Presidential Office of Ukraine announced on Monday that there had been 35 attacks by Russian forces in the Kherson region in the last day.
Earlier this month Ukraine claimed a wiretapped telephone conversation between two Russian-speaking men proved a Russian “sabotage group” was behind the dam’s destruction.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
According to Portal, the internal intelligence service of Ukraine (SBU) published a one-and-a-half-minute clip of the alleged conversation on its Telegram page.
On Wednesday, June 7, water flows over the collapsed Kakhovka Dam in Nova Kakhovka, Russian-held Ukraine. (AP)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“They (the Ukrainians) did not attack it. That was our sabotage group,” the news agency reported in the recording of one of the men – described by the SBU as a Russian soldier. “They wanted to scare (people) with this dam.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}
“It didn’t go according to plan and even more than planned,” the man reportedly added.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.