UN team assesses effect of Ukraine dam attack, says disaster will likely get worse

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - A team from various UN agencies on Wednesday assessed the effects of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine which collapsed and said the disaster will likely get worse in the coming hours, according to a spokesperson.

Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for the destruction of the major dam that was breached Tuesday.

Representatives from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, as well as five UN agencies and NGOs, were in Kherson on Wednesday, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters.

Dujarric said water levels are still rising and villages and towns are being flooded.

''This will impact people’s access to essential services and raises serious health risks,'' he said.

About 1,500 people left their flooded homes, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Dujarric said access to water is a main concern as hundreds of thousands of people depend on the Kakhovka reservoir for drinking water and the levels are dropping rapidly.

Flooding can also lead to contamination of water sources, increasing health risks, he added.

The Food and Agriculture Organization warned that the destruction of the dam will likely affect food security, as thousands of hectares of agricultural land have been flooded, destroying recently planted crops.

UN Chief Antonio Guterres said the United Nations has no access to independent information on the circumstances that led to the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam.

He said the destruction of the dam was ''another devastating consequence'' of the Russian invasion, a criticism also echoed by many Western states.