Ukraine Dam Destruction: UN warns of looming global hunger

….Ukraine evacuates citizens

….Putin, Zelensky trade blame

June 7, 2023

By Reporter

Following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Southern Ukraine, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has warned of a looming hunger crisis worldwide.

Following the dam’s destruction in southern Ukraine on Tuesday, Ukraine’s agriculture ministry expects some 10,000 hectares of agricultural land on the northern bank of the Dnipro in the Kherson region to be flooded, according to initial estimates.

On the southern bank, in the Russian-occupied region, many times this area will be flooded, the ministry announced on its website on Tuesday evening.

Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the dam’s destruction. Both sides speak of a “terrorist attack” and an unprecedented disaster for the environment.

Mr Martin Frick, head of the WFP’s Berlin office said that “the massive flooding was destroying newly planted grain and with it hope for 345 million hungry people around the world for whom grain from Ukraine is a lifesaver.

Frick is not, however, expecting further food price inflation, noting that “world food prices are still at a 10-year high.

“We cannot afford any more suffering,” Frick said.

Ukraine Evacuates Citizens

President Volodymyr Zelensky said 80 towns and villages may be flooded after the destruction of the dam at Nova Kakhovka.

Water is surging down the Dnipro river, and is said to pose a catastrophic flooding risk to the city of Kherson.

Putin, Zelensky Trade Blame

In his first public comments on the Nova Kakhovka dam blast, which has caused mass flooding, Russian President Vladimir Putin accuses Ukraine of a “barbaric act”.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has blamed Moscow for blowing up the dam, says Russia-backed forces are failing in their efforts to evacuate residents from affected occupied areas, saying the provision of drinking water and resettlement should be prioritised.

The Humanitarian Post