Zelensky visited Kherson. The floods due to the destruction of the dam claim victims. And the counteroffensive will have begun.
On day 470 of the war in Ukraine, the Ukrainian counteroffensive may have begun. After international newspapers reported it, it was also the turn of the ISW Institute for War to start the counter-offensive. Which was not confirmed by Ukraine.
This Thursday, June 8, in the Ukrainian War, the impacts of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam continued to dominate the spotlight, with complaints that evacuation was being difficult and warnings of the effects on the environment and health. . But there was also a moment of tension when it was announced that the water levels were below what was necessary to cool the nuclear reactors at the Zaporizia plant.
What happened during the day?
- The International Atomic Energy Agency has guaranteed that the Zaporizia continues to receive water from the reservoir of the destroyed Nova Kakhovka dam in order to cool the nuclear reactors. This after the dam operator said, during the afternoon, that the water levels had dropped to the point that it was not possible to pump water to the nuclear power plant.
- Volodymyr Zelensky, who was in Kherson on Thursday, spoke to environmental activists and blamed Putin for the dam’s destruction. “This disaster is Putin,” he declared, saying the destruction of the dam had a human hand and he blames Russia. The two countries in conflict have blamed each other for this rupture that has caused flooding along the Dnipro River and displaced many people.
- Another consequence of the destruction of the dam has also been the dragging of garbage, rubble and even mines and unexploded ordnance.
- Has the counteroffensive begun? It has been talked about for a long time, but several international newspapers reported on Thursday that it had really advanced. And the ISW, the Institute for the State of War, also noted this beginning. “The activity reported by Ukraine is consistent with a variety of indicators that Ukraine’s counteroffensive operations are ongoing.”
- Ukraine has not confirmed the start of the counteroffensive.
- Russia will have managed to stop a large-scale Ukrainian attack in the Zaporizia region, according to Reuters information, which reveals that the Russian Defense Minister will have revealed that Ukrainian forces tried to break through Russian defenses in the region with 1,500 soldiers and 150 armored vehicles . vehicles
- Nine dead is the new casualty count for the dam explosion.
- The United Nations has agreed to mobilize teams to help evacuate civilians from areas of Kherson occupied by Russian forces, if they allow access to the region. Ukraine has promised safe passage for the UN teams, but the same guarantees as the Russians are lacking, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
- Ukraine’s attorney general says a civilian was killed during shelling in Kherson, while evacuations were underway in flooded areas. The prosecution opened an investigation. Ukraine accuses Russia of bombing evacuation points.
- NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg urged the Alliance countries to provide “quick” support to the victims of the floods in Ukraine. This was in a videoconference meeting with Dmytro Kuleba, who also spoke with his American counterpart, Antony Blinken, assuring, according to CNN, that the United States “is helping to mitigate the consequences.”
NATO calls for quick support after dam destruction
- The World Health Organization has warned of the risk of a cholera outbreak with the destruction of a dam in Ukraine.
The Atomic Energy Agency guarantees that Zaporizhia still has water to cool nuclear reactors
Source: Observadora
