It is not only people who are losing their livelihoods after the blowing up of the dam in Ukraine – numerous animals are also drowning in the floods.
Kherson – More than a thousand houses are flooded in Ukraine and the water continues to rise: After the blowing up of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, the disaster is taking on devastating proportions for people and the environment. According to Ukrainian figures, about 16,000 people live in the critical zone, which is partly under Russian control. But numerous animals are also affected – many drown helplessly in the floods.
This satellite image, provided by Maxar Technologies via AP, shows the destroyed Kakhovka Dam. © Uncredited/Maxar Technologies/AP/dpa
Blowing up the Kakhovka Dam: all the animals in the zoo drowned
According to media reports, as well as in posts on Twitter, wild animals are shown as well as farm animals trying to save themselves from the masses of water. In a petting zoo near the destroyed dam in the city of Nova Kakhovka, the water is said to have poured into the animal enclosures. Around 60 animals such as monkeys, porcupines, goats and raccoons lived there – they are all said to have drowned.
Flooded villages: people try to save their animals
While some swans drift in flooded cities, many videos posted on Twitter show dogs being rescued from the water or cows being led through flooded streets. A video of a deer shivering from the wet and pictures of a pig trying to squeeze out of a barn window are also circulating on the net.
Severe consequences for people and nature: Ukrainian ministers speak of "ecocide"
It has not yet been definitively explained who is responsible for the destruction of the dam. The Russian and Ukrainian sides blame each other. But serious consequences for people and the environment are expected: Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov is already talking about an "ecocide", as he writes on Twitter. The Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture also fears that after the flooding, agricultural land, i.e. the fields in the south, could turn into deserts in the coming years. Because with the blown up dam, 31 field irrigation systems were also destroyed. (Eike
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