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UN / UKRAINE NOVA KAKHOVKA DAM
STORY: UN / UKRAINE NOVA KAKHOVKA DAM
TRT: 03:42
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / RUSSIAN / CHINESE / NATS
DATELINE: 06 JUNE 2023, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations Headquarters
06 JUNE 2023, NEW YORK CITY
2. Med shot, Griffiths being seated, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“Today’s news means the plight of people in Ukraine is set to get even worse than the pictures that we saw then. Immediate humanitarian needs are expected to grow as floodwaters move over the coming days and as assessments of the situation and the response continue.”
4. Med shot, Griffiths sitting, delegates, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“The sustained flooding displayed on our screens today will disrupt farming activities, damage livestock, and fisheries, and bring widespread longer-term consequences.”
6. Med shot, delegates, Security Council
SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“United Nations has no access to independent information on the circumstances that led to the destruction in the hydroelectric power plant dam. Yet, international humanitarian law is very clear: Installations containing dangerous forces, such as dams, must receive special protection precisely because their destruction can cause severe loss for the civilian population.”
7. Pan left, delegates, Security Council
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator:
“We are extremely concerned about people in affected areas that we are currently unable to reach, and we are operationally ready at any time to move with interagency convoys and aid personnel into Russian-controlled areas as well as they are affected by this event of the day.”
9. Pan left, delegates, Security Council
10. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Russia:
“On the night of June 6th, the Kyiv regime did the unthinkable crime - undermining the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam, resulting in an uncontrolled discharge of water downstream the course of the Dnieper River.”
11. Pan left, delegates, Security Council
12. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Russia:
“At the same time, the Secretariat’s leadership does not hesitate to replicate politicized conclusions that supposedly all such crimes result from Russia's actions in Ukraine. This is an unacceptable deviation from the principle of objectivity and impartiality prescribed by Article 100 of the UN Charter.”
12. Med shot, Kariuki speaking, delegates, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (English) James Kariuki, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, United Kingdom:
“We have seen Russia indiscriminately attack civilians and critical civilian infrastructure time and time again in this war. If Russia proves to be responsible, it would be a new low in its conduct of this brutal war.”
14. Med shot, Kariuki speaking, delegates, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (Chinese) Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, China:
“China reiterates that in the event of a nuclear disaster, no one constituent can stay immune. We call for maximum restraint, avoiding words and deeds that could escalate confrontation and lead to a miscalculation, and maintaining the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.”
16. Med shot, delegates, Security Council
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Sergiy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ukraine:
“About to bite the dust in the front, here in the United Nations Security Council Chamber, Russia is floundering again in the mud of lies.”
18. Med shot, delegates, Security Council
19. SOUNDBITE (English) Sergiy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ukraine:
“Russia will have to compensate for all the consequences of its crime: for people, infrastructure, and the environment.”
20. Wide shot, Security Council
Briefing the Security Council today (6 Jun), Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam “means the plight of people in Ukraine is set to get even worse.”
According to Griffiths, the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam is possibly the most significant damage to civilian infrastructure since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
He added that the sheer magnitude of the catastrophe would only become fully realized in the coming days, but it is already clear that it will have grave and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine – on both sides of the front line – through the loss of homes, food, safe water, and livelihoods.
The Kakhovka Reservoir, which the Dam forms, is a lifeline in the region and a critical water source for millions of people, not only in Kherson but also in Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro oblasts.
Ukrainian authorities reported that at least 40 settlements are flooded or partially flooded in the Kherson oblast.
This number is expected to rise in the coming days, Griffiths informed.
A severe impact is also expected in areas controlled by the Russian Federation, where humanitarians still struggle to gain access.
The UN and humanitarian organizations have already stepped-up operations today to address this event's impact.
An emergency response is underway to provide urgent assistance to over 16,000 affected people.
This support includes drinking water, cash assistance, and psychosocial support.
These efforts are in addition to the Ukrainian Government’s response, which included sending additional equipment like power generators, mobile water filter equipment, and transportation for water trucking, water being such a key issue due to this devastation.
Multidisciplinary mobile teams have also been deployed to train and bus stations across the oblast to support those seeking evacuations.
The Emergency Relief Coordinator said, “Immediate humanitarian needs are expected to grow as floodwaters move over the coming days and as assessments of the situation and the response continue.”
The dam is a key source of agricultural irrigation in southern Kherson and the Crimean Peninsula.
“The sustained flooding displayed on our screens today will disrupt farming activities, damage livestock and fisheries, and bring widespread longer-term consequences,” Griffiths explained.
The risks of mine and explosive ordnance contamination are particularly concerning, as fast-moving water shifts projectiles to areas previously assessed as safe, thus putting people in further and unpredictable danger.
At least 30 percent of Ukraine’s territory is mine-contaminated, according to the Ukrainian authorities, with Khersonska oblast being the most affected.
The destruction of the dam may also negatively affect electricity generation.
Additionally, any uncontrolled decrease in the Reservoir’s water level may negatively affect the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is closely monitoring the situation, and no immediate threat has been reported.
Griffiths noted, “The United Nations has no access to independent information on the circumstances that led to the destruction in the hydroelectric power plant dam. Yet, international humanitarian law is very clear: Installations containing dangerous forces, such as dams, must receive special protection precisely because their destruction can cause severe loss for the civilian population.”
He also said that the consequences of being unable to deliver assistance to the millions of people affected by the flooding in these areas are potentially catastrophic.
He stressed, “We are extremely concerned about people in affected areas that we are currently unable to reach, and we are operationally ready at any time to move with interagency convoys and aid personnel into Russian-controlled areas.”
Representing his country at the Security Council, Vasily Nebenzya, Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations, stated, “On the night of June 6th, the Kyiv regime did the unthinkable crime - undermining the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam, resulting in an uncontrolled discharge of water downstream the course of the Dnieper River.”
He also said, “At the same time, the Secretariat’s leadership does not hesitate to replicate politicized conclusions that supposedly all such crimes result from Russia's actions in Ukraine. This is an unacceptable deviation from the principle of objectivity and impartiality prescribed by Article 100 of the UN Charter.”
The Deputy Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the United Nations also addressed the Council today.
He said, “We have seen Russia indiscriminately attack civilians and critical civilian infrastructure time and time again in this war. If Russia proves to be responsible, it would be a new low in its conduct of this brutal war.”
Zhang Jun, Permanent Representative of China to the United Nations, said that in a nuclear disaster, “no one constituent can stay immune. We call for maximum restraint, avoiding words and deeds that could escalate confrontation and lead to a miscalculation, and maintaining the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.”
Sergiy Kyslytsya, Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations, said, “About to bite the dust in the front, here in the United Nations Security Council Chamber, Russia is floundering again in the mud of lies.”
He concluded, “Russia will have to compensate for all the consequences of its crime: for people, infrastructure, and the environment.”
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