Such a crime of ecocide could not have happened as a result of shelling the dam, the state leader said.
On Tuesday evening, June 6, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, addressed the world against the background of the ecocide caused by the blowing up of the Kakhovskaya HPP by the Russian invaders.
About this informs press service of the President’s Office.
“I appeal to everyone in the world who values life. Today, on our Ukrainian land, the Russian occupiers have committed the greatest crime of ecocide, and not only during this war, but for decades. In fact, the destroyed Kakhov reservoir is one of the largest in Ukraine. 18 billion cubic meters of water. All the structures of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, its dam, were in the occupied territory, under the full control of the Russian occupiers,” the president emphasized.
He noted that as early as last fall, Ukraine had information about the occupiers’ mining of the Kakhovskaya HPP. The Russians did it specifically – to blackmail the world and use the flood as a weapon. There are now areas in the flood zone where more than 100,000 people lived before the war, and now at least tens of thousands of people remain there.
“The Kakhov Reservoir provided drinking water to a large part of Ukraine – cities and villages with hundreds of thousands of people. Plus, it provided water to farmers and agricultural production in the south and center of Ukraine. Also, the destruction of the dam and reservoir is a man-made blow to the surrounding natural environment, after which nature will have to recover dozens years,” said Zelensky.
The evacuation of people from almost 80 settlements, which were at risk of flooding, continues. A stain of oil products was formed – at least 150 tons, which the current carries into the Black Sea. It is still unknown how many chemicals, fertilizers and oil products will end up in rivers and the sea.
“Several things are clear today. First: such a crime of ecocide could not have happened simply as a result of shelling the dam. In order to destroy it, Russian forces had to act deliberately – mine, undermine, destroy. Second: no country in the world should stand alone against such terror , and I am grateful to everyone who helps Ukraine! Third: the world needs an immediate and maximum response to Russian terror. From the UN Security Council to every international institution,” the Ukrainian leader said.
Zelensky emphasized that the deliberate destruction of the HPP dam by terrorists looks the same from every point of view in the world. Both for Africa, and for Europe, and for the United States, and for China, and for Australia, and for India, man-made disasters are evil.
“We must stop Russian evil. All other terrorists in the world must see that terror is punished by the world,” he concluded.
The president added: the faster de-occupation is, the faster security will return.
We previously reported that American leader Joe Biden commented on the Russian occupation army’s detonation of the Kakhovskaya HPP. He emphasized that the USA will not leave Ukraine in trouble.
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Source: TSN