Swaths of southern Ukraine remained underwater on Wednesday, after damage to the Soviet-era Kakhovka dam caused a reservoir to overflow and inundate communities downstream on the Dnieper River. Russian and Ukrainian officials said they began cleanup operations and evacuated thousands of people in the areas of Kherson they control, but they noted that the intensity of flooding was decreasing. The United Nations said the destruction unleashed is “monumental.”
Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame for the dam’s collapse, which poses strategic challenges to both sides, experts say. The United States said it has not determined what happened.
Here’s the latest on the war and its impact across the globe.
A Ukrainian zoo survived through war. The Kakhovka flood ended it: Through shelling and mined roads, zookeepers in Kazkova Dibrova in southern Ukraine had battled through the year to keep their animals safe following the Russian invasion. But catastrophic flooding after the destruction of a dam in the region ended that, Rachel Pannett reports.
The deluge killed 300 animals, and only a few swans and ducks survived, zoo officials said. “This is terrible grief, terrible pain,” the zoo said on Facebook.
Natalia Abbakumova and Samantha Schmidt contributed to this report.
Niha Masih, Adela Suliman
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