It is estimated that 10,000 hectares of agricultural land are still under water.
Three weeks after the destruction of the Ukrainian Kakhovka dam, life continues to be miserable for the inhabitants of the Kherson region.
The tremendous humanitarian and environmental catastrophe is felt every day by the thousands of people who, after being forced to leave their homes, have been returning to the place, right now no electricity or running water.
“At the moment, the shower doesn’t work, and there is no electricity,” he says. Lida, owner of a store in the city. “We are heating the water and cleaning ourselves. What else can we do? We don’t have electricity, and we won’t have it soon, because they will start repairing it starting this week.”
The Pope’s envoy to Ukraine, Konrad Krajewski, has checked the situation for himself. The Vatican has opened a dining hall in the city of Jerson, which it has said is a respite for the local population.
“What the bombardments did not destroy and what the Russians did not loot, who also looted private houses, was now destroyed by the water after the destruction of the dam,” says the cardinal.
Almost a month after what happened, both Ukraine and the Western bloc remain clear that it was an act of sabotage. The authorities in the area estimate that some 10,000 hectares of agricultural land are still under water. The consequences will be felt for decades.