GENICHESK, June 8. /TASS/. The death toll in the Kherson Region, where several dozens of populated localities have been flooded after the Kakhovka Hydro Power Plant’s (HPP) structures were damaged, has risen to seven, Acting Governor Vladimir Saldo wrote on his Telegram channel on Thursday.
"Regrettably, there are seven fatalities. Among them are two civilians who were killed in a missile attack on the evacuation area in Golaya Pristan, carried out by Ukrainian militants," Saldo wrote.
On June 6, the Ukrainian military launched a missile attack on the Kakhovka Hydro Power Plant, which resulted in the destruction of gate sluice valves at the HPP’s dam, triggering an uncontrolled discharge of water. In nearby Novaya Kakhovka, the water level at the reservoir reached 12 meters, but is now receding. According to emergency services, there are 35 communities with a population of over 22,000 in the flood zone, and residents of nearby villages are being evacuated. The destruction of the hydro power plant has caused serious environmental damage, with farmlands along the Dnieper River being washed away. On top of that, there is a risk that the North Crimean Canal may run low and become too shallow.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the strike on the Kakhovka Hydro Power Plant as an act of deliberate sabotage by Ukrainian forces, adding that the Kiev regime should bear all of the responsibility for its consequences.