UN willing to help people in flooded areas under Russian control if Moscow allows access: Ukraine

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Ukraine said on Thursday that UN personnel will be deployed on the left bank of the Dnieper River once Russia provides access and security guarantees, following flooding in areas downstream since Tuesday as a result of a blast that damaged the Kakhovka dam.

“The sides agreed that the UN units will go to the affected areas in the temporarily occupied territories from the Ukraine-controlled territories as soon as Russia provides access and security guarantees,” the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released following a meeting in Kyiv between Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown.

The statement said Kuleba and Brown discussed bolstering UN assistance in Ukraine to overcome the “humanitarian consequences” caused by flooding after the explosion at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP).

On Tuesday, Russia and Ukraine accused each other of damaging the Kakhovka dam, causing flooding in neighboring settlements.

Moscow accused Kyiv of attempting to cut Crimea off from the freshwater it receives from the dam's Kakhovka Reservoir, while Ukraine claimed that Russia is trying to slow an expected counteroffensive.

“The Ukrainian side noted the sending of UN humanitarian aid to the affected territories. It was at the same time noted that the scale of destruction and suffering caused to citizens and animals requires a qualitatively different response,” the statement said.

The two sides agreed that the UN will “immediately increase the amount of aid and send additional forces to the Kherson and other affected regions,” according to the statement.

“In addition, it was agreed that the UN will immediately form groups in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson that will be sent to the affected occupied territories of the Left Bank to provide humanitarian aid and evacuate people on the condition of ensuring safe passage to the occupied territories from the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine,” it added.

It said Kuleba assured Ukraine will provide “all security guarantees to the UN for fulfilling the humanitarian operations in the entire affected area.”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​