Some 600 square kilometers (230 square miles) of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region is under water two days after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, an event western leaders denounced as a “war crime.”
Almost a third of the the flood zone, where thousands are being evacuated, is held by Ukrainian forces, while the rest is in Russian-occupied territory, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram. Kyiv and its allies are assessing the humanitarian, economic and ecological damage of the disaster, as the US administration said it was investigating.
Russia’s elite meanwhile see an ongoing “frozen” conflict as the best outcome for the Kremlin, as a mood of deepening gloom emerges over the prospects for President Vladimir Putin’s war. Many within the political and business elite are tired of the conflict and want it to stop, though they doubt Putin will halt the fighting, according to seven people familiar with the situation.
Latest Coverage
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- Ukraine Promises Embassies, Grain to Counter Russia in Africa
- Ukraine’s Allies Call Destruction of Dam a ‘War Crime’
Market Impact
Wheat retreated with cheap Russian exports — and as traders consider the latest impact of the war against the outlook for global supplies of the key food crop.
Coming Up
- Floodwaters from the dam breach are expected to peak
- Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin takes part in meeting of CIS leaders