We are calling on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, International Rescue Committee, Disasters Emergency Committee, RE:ACT, ActionAid, RedR UK, MOAS, and every international evacuation mission: save people on the occupied left bank of Dnipro from the flood caused by the Nova Kakhovka dam explosion.

In the early hours on Tuesday June 6, the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in Ukraine was blown up by Russian troops. The dam held roughly 18 cubic kilometres of water, which are now rushing downstream, drowning people, animals, whole villages and cities. About 42,000 people are at risk from flooding on both sides of the Dnipro River after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, Ukrainian officials have said.

According to Kherson's Ukrainian governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, 68% of the flooded territory is on the Russian-occupied left bank of the Dnipro River. Ukrainian rescue missions are saving lives on the right bank, but the Russian-occupied left bank is seeing horrible deaths in the flood. At the same time, the left bank is lower, and the flood levels are even higher. Volunteer chats are exploding with SOS messages. The water has reached and covered roofs in many villages and towns. Yet, the Russian temporary government officials in the occupied territories are not running mass rescue missions and are instead sabotaging volunteer missions.

According to the Zmiha Human Rights Centre, volunteers are saying that the Russian military stop cars leaving flooded villages, like Oleshky, and only let through Russian citizens. 90% of Oleshky is under water. According to the General Staff of Ukraine, in Kozachi Lageri, the Russian troops have blocked all exits from the town. In Gola Pristan’, Russian soldiers force the locals off the roofs to use those roofs as positions for direct fire. More local volunteers report that while the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations sent rescue missions to some of the occupied villages (only now, two days after the dam explosion), they are inefficient, lacking boats to evacuate people and blocking the work of independent volunteers. In Kardashinka, at least 50 people are on a hill with no drinking water or food; their houses, even the rooftops, are under water; Russian emergency services have not sent a rescue mission despite numerous phone calls, and Russian troops are blocking Ukrainian rescue missions from accessing the village.

Hundreds of spontaneously created Telegram chats are full of people begging for help. “Please help! Ozerki, 5 Sadovaya street. Two women and a child, water is rising fast. HELP!!! The child is in shock and hysterical.” “Two elderly people hiding in the attic, water is almost there, please help.” “Old man on the roof, the water is already in the attic, the whole street is full of people in need of help.” “Please help, my parents are on the roof, they are already sitting in water and water is rising still. They are elderly, my mum just had a stroke, she is a doctor from this same village. They are out of drinking water! SOS!!!” “Help! Kolkhozny Street, women can’t swim! Up to 10 people here!!” The stream of messages is slowly running out as people’s phones run out of batteries and they are left to drown with no help.

This is what the emergency rescue organisations were created for. You are these people’s only hope. We need wide international attention and, much more importantly, we need immediate practical help. We need your volunteers and boats on the left bank of Dnipro, which is controlled by the Russian troops. We need humanitarian aid. You need to act now.

 

Signed:

FAR Oxford (Oxford Feminist Anti-War Resistance)

FAR London (London Feminist Anti-War Resistance)

FAR USA (American Feminist Anti-War Resistance)

Oxford University Ukrainian Society

Sunflower Sisters (UK/Ukraine)

Project Divchata (Ukraine)

Tribunal for Putin (T4P)

Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG)

Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union

Center for Civil Liberties (CCL)

Ukrainian Medical Association of the UK

Yurt Community (UK)

FAR Netherlands (Feminist Anti-War Resistance in the Netherlands)

Les Enchaine.e.s (France)

Russian Democratic Society UK

FAR Lithuania (Feminist Anti-War Resistance in Lithuania)

Russians Against War Vienna

FAR Korea (Feminist Anti-War Resistance in Korea)

Feministický protiválečný odpor (Feminist anti-war resistance in Czech Republic) 

Comunità dei Russi Liberi (Italy)

FreeRussia.NL (Netherlands)

Youth Democratic Movement Vesna

Russians Against War (Sweden)

 

To add your signature as an organisation, please email Anna Hope at faroxford@gmail.com