What’s happening to Ukrainians in the flooded occupied territories in Kherson Oblast – military interview
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The region most affected by the Kakhovka Dam explosion is the left bank of the Dnipro River – the occupied territories of Kherson Oblast, where a number of enemy positions are located, Natalia Humeniuk, the Ukrainian military’s Operational Command South spokesperson, told Radio NV in an interview.
That’s why the rising water levels have forced the enemy to move the front lines five to 15 kilometers back. She is convinced that while the Ukrainian Armed Forces (ZSU) will liberate all the territories it can, it will do so quietly, unobtrusively, and imperceptibly – so that the enemy feels it.
NV: I wanted to talk about how the situation has changed after the occupiers blew up the Kakhovka HPP. What do we know about the enemy’s movements?
Humeniuk: What we know and what we can say – these are slightly different things, but even so there is some information that we can make public.
Yes, they are in fact redeploying their divisions – in particular, they are displacing from the coast due to the influence of the high water levels. They are trying to find a relatively dry location. Obviously, their own positions, their own initial defense lines which they had built along the left bank have also been flooded – where they had placed significant strips of mines and mine-explosive barriers.
It was under the pressure of the water that these mines turned from anti-personnel mines into drifting ones, and are now heading downstream into the depths of this water, representing a great danger.
NV: When this man-made catastrophe occurred, this terrorist act, we saw the invaders continue to shell Kherson. You saw that they have withdrawn from five to 15 kilometers from their previous lines. Has this not interfered with their attempts to continue these kinds of terrorist acts?
Humeniuk: If you remember my previous statements on the matter, I said that we would need to move the enemy at least 30 kilometers (from the front lines) in order to end the shelling of right-bank Kherson Oblast.
At the moment, they have lost the ability to reach the city with some types of weapons, specifically mortars, but they still have heavy artillery, they still have multiple-launch rocket systems, and at the end of the day, they still have aviation, which they use for aerial bombardment with guided aerial bombs. They also still have drones with frag grenades. That’s why (this movement) does not guarantee an absolute stop (to the shelling) though we understand that the enemy will in fact encounter some concrete complications.
NV: We’re certain that Operational Command South has made predictions about what will happen to the landscape after two-three weeks, after a month after the water levels recede. Currently, the islands bordering Kherson have been flooded. The Kinburn Spit, it seems, has turned into an island. Can you share with us any of these predictions?
Humeniuk: Of course there’s flooding, and it’s pretty strong flooding. You must understand that the strongest hit went down particularly hard on the left bank, which is geographically lower than the right. The right bank has things a bit easier, but there are regions there which have been significantly submerged.
The crater that was formed as a result of the explosion has not been filled in, so (the flooding) continues. And the fact that in certain areas, the water level has now leveled off and has even started to subside – this is a natural process that does not guarantee an easy way out of such a catastrophe, from this man-made situation.
One needs to realize that until the water containment is repaired, the threat (from floods) will be quite significant. That’s why there are many ways this situation could develop, and every one of them are being carefully worked on by both military command and local authorities – taking into account that the people who are suffering need to be given shelter and saved.
The enemy has once again experienced this slight deja vu, seeing as (the enemy’s) military command will start to lose themselves in the number of options they can choose from – and they will begin to panic again: when and what they will eventually choose, as well as the expectation of the counteroffensive.
NV: Do we have any ability to help our citizens on the left bank of Kherson Oblast? There were reports that the occupiers are preventing them from evacuating to liberated Ukrainian territory. Is there anything we can do in this situation? Maybe some talks with the occupiers on this topic, to save our citizens?
Humeniuk: Talking to the occupiers is a difficult question, because terrorists shouldn’t be negotiated with in any situation. But, of course, we will apply all our strengths in order to get people on that side some help and offer them the largest possible volume of aid and support.
Our soldiers have already demonstrated this: if you’ve seen this video shared on social networks, where our soldiers managed to send water bottles by drone to Oleshky, [a town bordering Kherson and occupied by Russians - ed.] to people with children who had suffered from the flooding. And those people even had time to thank our soldiers. That’s why – those that want to, will find a way.
NV: Why does the left bank have no cell phone signal? We spoke to activists and journalists and they told us: you can’t call Russian or even Ukrainian numbers. Is it related to the elements? Or is this the Russians trying to hide something this way?
Humeniuk: According to our information, the dampening of (mobile) connections was occurring directly prior to the terrorist act, which is why a portion of the enemy divisions did not manage to receive the corresponding withdrawal orders – that they needed to abandon their position, that they were in danger. And then, later, they couldn’t establish a connection between themselves in order to understand whether those that had remained in their positions managed to evacuate.
Considering that the occupiers have repeatedly cut (mobile) connections for people in order to limit their access to accurate information – this was completely predictable. And the occupying authorities have in fact acted in understandable ways regarding this – they are trying to hide it and have actually limited the ability to communicate. But there is still a reserve of communication resources which allows for the gathering of accurate information from the area.
NV: What’s going on with our citizens on the left bank?
Humeniuk: The situation there is indeed difficult and we can even say, critical – on the level of a humanitarian catastrophe, because a lot of people ended up in water traps: when they’re surrounded by water and, having no way to communicate, cannot even inform themselves about where they can be rescued.
A lot of people who stayed in apartment buildings, which were flooded from below, have no ability to leave their homes and someone get to a safe zone. A lot of people as you said, were trapped on roofs, and these are their only safe places.
The worst is that the enemy is attempting to blame Ukraine’s Armed Forces: that because of our shelling they have not been able to conduct evacuation operations. But the global community has already been notified. Ukraine’s Armed Forces does not conduct reckless firing, covering everything that can be reached by shells. They choose concrete targets that are connected directly to the occupiers’ activities. We do not fire on civilians, on infrastructure, or on quiet regions.
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