UN in close contact with Ukraine to help victims of dam blast - spox

Saviano Abreu, spokesman for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said this in An exclusive comment to Ukrinform.

"Since 6th of June, a couple of days ago, when the destruction of the dam happened, we already had operations there, so we started since day 1 to support people that have been affected by this new disaster," said spokesman.

He noted that since June 6, some 18,000 people affected by the natural disaster have received food thanks to the UN; OCHA transferred 100,000 bottles of water and 10,000 purification pills from Mykolaiv to Kherson, provided direct cash assistance to 3,500 people affected by the flooding, and delivered hygiene kits to the centers for displaced persons.

Abreu noted that psychological support is provided to people on the ground, and teams accompanied by psychologists work at the stations.

The spokesman also reported that five representatives of UN agencies were in Kherson yesterday to cooperate with the local authorities in specifying support needs.

He added that the UN coordinator constantly maintains contact with the government of Ukraine, maintaining close contact with the Office of the President and various ministries, unlike the Russian Federation: "The government of Ukraine asked our support to go there (to the occupied territory – ed.), and we're going to make sure that we can try to go. But (access – ed.), as you know, has been at least so far blocked by the Russian Federation."

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine in an interview with BILD stated that the largest international organizations – the UN and ICRC – either did not respond to Ukraine's request for help after the Kakhovka HPP dam breach, or it was essentially a refusal "in diplomatic terms." The head of state noted that he was "shocked" by such a reaction on the part of international organizations.

On the day of the war crime committed by the Russians, when they blew up the Kakhovka HPP and caused the disaster, the United Nations decided to remind that the world celebrates the Day of the Russian Language on June 6.

On the night of June 6, Russian troops blew up the Kakhovka HPP. As a result of the detonation in the engine room from the inside, the plant was completely destroyed.

Evacuation of the population from potential flooding areas is underway.