Assistance in the flooded area of the destroyed Kakhovka Dam
TRANSLATED ABSTRACT of original article
Kateryna Pryshchepa covers the events that took place after the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam by the Russian occupiers. The disaster occurred on June 6, 2023.
The case of Ulyana. Since her house was flooded, Ulyana has been living in her bakery in the city center. Together with Anzhela, her neighbor, they manage a small volunteer resource center, distributing donations supplied by NGOs and charities from all over Ukraine.
Volunteers began to arrive in the city with vans loaded with humanitarian aid.
Volunteers and ordinary people also rescued animals from the flooded area. Natalia has been trying to help Kherson’s street animals for the last few months. After the flood she got in contact with animal charities in other cities of Ukraine, and has been sending rescued animals to shelters in Odesa, Kharkiv and Kyiv.
Kateryna also says that local residents are wary of the press, afraid to comment or take photos because the enemy might find out that they are helping.
Of course, there are people who trust the press and believe that truthful reporting can help. Olena, who only left the left bank of the Dnipro in February this year, having made a journey through occupied Crimea, Russia and the Baltic states to come back to her apartment in Kherson, says she is frustrated by how little the international media report on the living conditions and the human rights violations in the occupied parts of Ukraine. “They don’t seem to believe our testimonies. Why don’t they seem to understand that when the Russian soldiers are beating you up or robbing your house you are not in a position to film this to provide proof later on?” she asks.
About the Author
Kateryna Pryshchepa is a journalist and researcher born in Kyiv, Ukraine. Having started her career in Ukrainian business media, she has been contributing to New Eastern Europe magazine since 2016 and became a contributing editor of New Eastern Europe in 2023.