**Russian Forces Hinder Evacuation Efforts in Flooded Kherson Oblast**
The Russian-controlled forces in Kherson Oblast have made it difficult for civilians to evacuate the flood zone. This is after the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed by Russia in June 2023.
Locals who were trying to help people escape on their own boats had them confiscated. The volunteers who were helping were also threatened and told to stop. The local rescue services didn’t have enough resources, and the Russian authorities hid how bad the situation really was.
**Many Civilians Died Because of These Actions**
The Kyiv Independent has collected 50 testimonies from people who tried to help or lost loved ones in the floods. They made a documentary called “When the Water Screams” which shows what happened. The water flooded settlements downstream, but the Russian-controlled eastern bank was hit the hardest.
There were no announcements about evacuating, and rescue boats didn’t arrive until days later. Locals had to organize their own rescue efforts using social media. However, Russian soldiers wouldn’t let them into all the flooded areas and took their boats away.
**Russian Officials in Charge Failed to Act**
The head of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast is Volodymyr Saldo, a Russian-installed official. He put Andrey Alekseenko, a former mayor from Russia, in charge of responding to the emergency. However, they didn’t have enough resources.
In contrast, when a similar disaster happened in Russia’s Ivanovo Oblast, they had eight times more personnel and 18 times more equipment.
**Many Lives Lost and Covered Up**
Russian official Saldo reported that over 60 people died due to the flooding. But eyewitnesses and volunteers think hundreds of people may have died on the occupied eastern bank, and the Russian authorities tried to hide this fact.
Some families still don’t know what happened to their loved ones. The doctors who issued death certificates were stopped from doing so after issuing just six.
