Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has criticised international aid agencies for their alleged passivity following the flood disaster caused by a dam explosion. "Every dead person is a verdict for the existing international architecture, for international organizations that have forgotten how to save lives," he said in his daily video address on Wednesday evening. He did not specify how many Ukrainians died as a result of the floods.
Instead, he spoke of 2000,<> people who had been rescued in the Ukrainian part of the Kherson region, which was particularly affected by the floods. However, the situation in the Russian-occupied part of the area is difficult. Zelensky accused Russian troops of abandoning the people there - and torpedoing Ukrainian rescue attempts. In this context, he criticized international aid organizations such as the Red Cross, which he believes should be more active in this region.
The Ukrainian president had previously expressed the criticism in an interview with "Welt", "Bild" and "Politico" in Kiev. He severely reproached the Russian troops on the southern bank of the Dnipro River, which they had captured: "If our forces try to get people out, then they will be fired upon by the occupiers from a distance." However, he expressed his gratitude for bilateral aid pledges from abroad. He spoke on the phone with French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and discussed concrete offers of help.
On Tuesday night, the Kakhovka dam of the Dnipro River was severely damaged by an explosion. Ukraine and the West blame Russia for the destruction. Moscow denies this and, in turn, accuses Kiev of shelling the dam for military considerations.
Erdogan proposes commission of inquiry after dam destruction
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed a commission of inquiry into the dam explosion. Erdogan addressed this on Wednesday in separate phone calls with Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and Zelensky, the presidential office in Ankara said.
Putin spoke out for the first time after the explosion. He accused the Ukrainian leadership of being behind the dam explosion. This is an example of Kiev and the backers in the West counting on a "further escalation of hostilities, committing war crimes, openly using terrorist methods and organizing acts of sabotage on Russian territory," the Kremlin's press release said.
France condemns attack on dam
Macron condemned the attack on the dam and assured Ukraine of rapid assistance. "We will send aid in the very next few hours to meet immediate needs," Macron said on Wednesday evening after the phone call with Zelensky. According to the Élysée Palace, the Crisis and Support Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will quickly launch a first convoy with about ten tons of the products requested by the Ukrainians in the field of health, hygiene, water treatment and portable tanks.