GENICHESK, June 9. /TASS/. The epidemiological situation in the Kherson Region amid the floods triggered by the collapse of the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant (HPP) is stable, the region’s health ministry said on Friday.
"The epidemiological situation in the Kherson Region is stable, with the incidence of water-and food-transmitted infections being low. Monitoring of the situation with diseases in the Kherson Region has been enhanced amid the emergency situation," it said, adding that despite the difficult situation provoked by the floods, not outbreaks of dangerous and naturally occurring diseases have been registered.
On the morning of June 6, the Ukrainian military launched a missile attack on the Kakhovka HPP, which resulted in the destruction of gate sluice valves at the HPP’s dam, triggering an uncontrolled discharge of water. According to emergency services, there are 35 communities in the flood zone, and residents of nearby villages are being evacuated. Eight people are reported to have died and more than 60 taken to the hospital.
The destruction of the hydro power plant has caused serious environmental damage with farmlands along the Dnieper River being washed away. Additionally, 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 dam as an act of deliberate sabotage by Ukrainian forces, adding that the Kiev regime should bear full responsibility for its consequences.