MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin is keeping track of the situation in the Kherson Region following the recent collapse of a dam there, the region’s Interim Governor Vladimir Saldo said on Rossiya-24 television on Saturday.
"The president concerns himself with the situation, asking what is happening, how it’s happening. He now often dials me up and asks questions, monitoring the situation all the time," he said.
According to Saldo, the Russian president instructed him to collect and pass on the most complete data on the flooding situation, as well as to provide the residents of the region with all necessary assistance, both moral and material one, including with respect to the rebuilding of damaged housing.
"This is for absolutely all Kherson residents who ended up in the flooded areas: Their property, including that which is tangible property classified as farmlands - all that will be restored. It will be restored in full and in such a way that people won’t feel that they were left alone," the official said.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces inflicted a missile strike on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant on the morning of June 6, destroying its valves and prompting an uncontrolled release of water. Thirty-five settlements and areas have been affected by floodwaters. Residents of nearby settlements are being evacuated. Officials said eight people were killed during the flooding. Two of them were killed in an artillery strike on an evacuation center, according to the officials. More than 60 people were taken to hospitals.
The destruction of the dam has caused serious damage to the environment, washed away farmlands along the Dnieper and raised the risk of the North Crimean Canal drying up. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the attack on the Kakhovka HPP a deliberate act of sabotage by Ukraine and said that the Kiev regime should be held responsible for the consequences.