Ukraine sets up HQs to monitor aftermath of dam breach

Ukraine is setting up headquarters to deal with the aftermath of the Kakhovka dam breach, which has led to massive flooding, with Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko in charge. As a result of the dam breach on Tuesday, the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant has been totally destroyed and cannot be restored Water from the reservoir have flooded towns and villages and has also caused problems with the water supply in Kryvyi Rih, Marhanets and Nikopol, reports Ukrayinska Pravda. In a statement on social media platform Telegram late Tuesday, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said: “We appoint the Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko as the head of the work on eliminating the consequences of this terrorist attack.” In addition, a separate emergency response headquarter will be set up, which, according to Shmyhal, will include ministers, their deputies, heads of central executive bodies and representatives of state-owned enterprises. Ukraine has blamed Russia of blowing up the dam, but Moscow has denied the claim and has instead blamed it on Ukrainian shelling. Water is surging down the Dnipro river, and is said to pose a catastrophic flooding risk to the city of Kherson, reports the BBC The Kakhovka dam, downstream from the huge Kakhovka reservoir, is crucial to the region.