The destruction of the gigantic New Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, in addition to the flooding of thousands of houses, the potential deaths and all kinds of damage to strategic sectors for Ukraine such as agriculture, generates incalculable dangers such as possible refloating and location of land mines, the Red Cross has warned.
Thousands of people have already been evacuated from parts of the Kherson region as water continues to flow down the Dnieper River, which divides territory controlled by Russia and Ukraine.
Both Ukraine and Russia blame each other for sabotaging the Kakhovka dam. So far, three flood-related drowning deaths have been confirmed in Oleshki, a Russian-controlled town. Yevhen Ryshchuk, the city’s exiled Ukrainian mayor, told public broadcaster Suspilne that he believed there would be more victims.
Erik Tollefsen, head of the Red Cross weapons contamination unit, told AFP that the detached mines had caused great concern not only for Kherson residents, but also for those who came to help. “We knew where the dangers were,” he told the AFP news agency. “However, now we don’t know.”
Mirjana Spoljaric Egger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
The anti-personnel and anti-tank mines such as the TM-57 will now have been dispersed and would be scattered in unknown places, according to the Red Cross. Ukraine’s New Kakhovka dam on Russian-controlled territory was destroyed on Tuesday, inundating dozens of villages and parts of a nearby town, and raising fears of a humanitarian disaster.
Already last Tuesday the United Nations had warned of the risks associated with mines, which are numerous in Ukraine.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) noted that the floodwaters would not damage or disable these explosive devices, meaning they could pose a threat for decades to come.
