Ukraine's Kakhovka dam burst caused widespread devastation, human suffering: WHO

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) – The World Health Organization chief said Thursday that the destruction of Ukraine's Kakhovka dam caused widespread devastation and human suffering, with one official saying 16,000 people are at immediate risk of flooding.

"The impact on the region's water supply, sanitation systems, and public health services cannot be underestimated," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Ukraine and Russia on Tuesday accused each other of damaging the Kakhovka dam, which led to the flooding of the neighboring settlements.

Moscow accused Ukraine of attempting to cut Crimea off the freshwater it receives from the Kakhovka Reservoir, formed by the dam, while Kyiv claimed that Russia tried to slow down an expected counteroffensive.

WHO health emergency officer Teresa Zakaria, responding to Anadolu's question, said: "We have not seen any cases of cholera since the start of the Ukraine war.

"We are looking at quite a large population potentially being affected upstream. The dam water serves a population of up to 700,000 people downstream."

“Because water continues to come downstream … at the moment, figures show 16,000 people were immediately at risk of flooding on the riverbanks.”

- Thousands evacuated

Zakaria said thousands of people have been evacuated, and the number is growing.

The WHO official said that some of the population is at risk of flooding, while others face disruption in clean water, and less access to food in the coming months "because agricultural lands are rendered completely obsolete."

Asked by a Russian journalist if WHO is serving both Ukrainian and Russians, Mike Ryan, head of WHO's global emergencies, said that previously the WHO had access to populations on both sides of the conflict when it was within the borders of sovereign Ukraine.

"Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we have focused on supporting people with easy access," said Ryan.

He said the WHO is assured by Russian authorities that people under their control are well monitored, cared for, fed, and supported.

"We will be delighted to be able to access those areas and be able to monitor health as we would, in most situations, wish to do. But it again will be for the authorities of Ukraine and Russia to agree on how that could be achieved," said Ryan.

"We stand ready at any time to deploy to support civilians affected by conflict anywhere in the world. But we can only do that with the support and acceptance of the conflicting parties in this situation."