KYIV, Ukraine: The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls collapsed Tuesday after a reported explosion, sending water gushing downriver and prompting dire warnings of ecological damage as officials from both sides in the war ordered residents to evacuate.
Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the dam and hydroelectric power station, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian military strikes in the contested area.
The fallout could have far-reaching consequences: flooding homes, streets and businesses downstream; depleting water levels upstream that help cool Europe’s largest nuclear power plant; and draining supplies of drinking water to the south in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed.
The dam break added a stunning new dimension to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, now in its 16th month. Ukrainian forces were widely seen to be moving forward with a long-anticipated counteroffensive in patches along more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of frontline in the east and south of Ukraine.
It was not immediately clear whether either side benefits from the damage to the dam, since both Russian-controlled and Ukrainian-held lands are at risk of flooding. The damage could also potentially hinder Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south, while at the same time Russia depends on the dam to supply water to the Crimea region it annexed illegally in 2014.
Amid official outrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Council. He alleged that Russian forces set off a blast inside the dam structure at 2.50 a.m. (2350 GMT) and said some 80 settlements were in danger.
Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom said in a Telegram statement that the damage to the dam “could have negative consequences” for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is Europe’s biggest, but wrote that for now the situation is “controllable.”
The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement there was “no immediate risk to the safety of the plant,” which requires water for its cooling system.
It said that IAEA staff on site have been told the dam level is falling by 5 centimeters (2 inches) an hour. At that rate, the supply from the reservoir should last a few days, it said.
The plant also has alternative sources of water, including a large cooling pond than can provide water “for some months,” the statement said.
Ukrainian authorities have previously warned that the dam’s failure could unleash 18 million cubic meters (4.8 billion gallons) of water and flood Kherson and dozens of other areas where hundreds of thousands of people live.
The World Data Center for Geoinformatics and Sustainable Development, a Ukrainian nongovernmental organization, estimated that nearly 100 villages and towns would be flooded. It also reckoned that the water level would start dropping only after five-seven days.
A total collapse in the dam would wash away much of the broad river’s left bank, according to the Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Working Group, an organization of environmental activists and experts documenting the war’s environmental effects.
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that “a global ecological disaster is playing out now, online, and thousands of animals and ecosystems will be destroyed in the next few hours.”
Videos posted online began testifying to the spillover. One showed floodwaters inundating a long roadway; another showed a beaver scurrying for high ground from rising waters.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry called for residents of 10 villages on the Dnipro’s right bank and parts of the city of Kherson downriver to gather essential documents and pets, turn off appliances, and leave, while cautioning against possible disinformation.
The Russian-installed mayor of occupied Nova Kakhovka, Vladimir Leontyev, said it was being evacuated as water poured into the city.
Ukraine controls five of the six dams along the Dnipro, which runs from its northern border with Belarus down to the Black Sea and is crucial for the entire country’s drinking water and power supply.
Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, said in a video posted to Telegram shortly before 7 a.m. that “the Russian army has committed yet another act of terror,” and warned that water will reach “critical levels” within five hours.
Ukraine’s state hydro power generating company wrote in a statement that “The station cannot be restored.” Ukrhydroenergo also claimed that Russia blew up the station from inside the engine room.
Leontyev, the Russian-appointed mayor, said Tuesday that numerous Ukrainian strikes on the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant destroyed its valves, and “water from the Kakhovka reservoir began to uncontrollably flow downstream.” Leontyev added that damage to the station was beyond repair, and it would have to be rebuilt.
Ukraine and Russia have previously accused each other of targeting the dam with attacks, and last October Zelensky predicted that Russia would destroy the dam in order to cause a flood.
Authorities, experts and residents have for months expressed concerns about water flows through — and over — the Kakhovka dam.
In February, water levels were so low that many feared a meltdown at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, whose cooling systems are supplied with water from the Kakhovka reservoir held up by the dam.
By mid-May, after heavy rains and snow melt, water levels rose beyond normal levels, flooding nearby villages. Satellite images showed water washing over damaged sluice gates.
Ukraine accuses Russia of destroying major dam near Kherson, warns of ecological disaster
https://arab.news/4zg75
Ukraine accuses Russia of destroying major dam near Kherson, warns of ecological disaster
- Both sides blamed the other for destroying the dam
- President Volodymyr Zelensky called an emergency meeting to deal with the crisis
Mali troops redeploy toward rebel stronghold: security officials
- Kidal lies more than 1,500 kilometers from the capital Bamako and hundreds of kilometers from the cities of Gao and Timbuktu
DAKAR: The Malian army began redeploying troops on Monday toward the northern rebel stronghold of Kidal, two security officials said, amid a resumption of hostilities in the region.
“As part of the reorganization of our arrangements in the north, we have begun the redeployment of our forces in the northeastern region of Kidal,” a Mali military official who spoke on condition of anonymity said.
A convoy left the northern city of Gao, which lies 300 kilometers southwest of Kidal, early Monday, the source added.
Another security official said the convoy was made up of 119 vehicles and was currently stopped on the road to the north of Gao.
National security chiefs made the deployment decision at a meeting late on Sunday, he added.
Kidal is a crossroads region in the north that is not under the control of the Malian state but of a coalition of predominantly Tuareg groups called the Coordination of Azawad Movements.
Since the end of August, the north of Mali has seen a resumption of hostilities by the CMA and an intensification of militant attacks against the army. The fact that Kidal is still controlled by the ex-rebels continues to pose a sovereignty issue and remains a source of irritation for Bamako, including for the junta. Junta leaders have made re-establishing state control across the whole country one of their main messages.
Kidal lies more than 1,500 kilometers from the capital Bamako and hundreds of kilometers from the cities of Gao and Timbuktu.
It is a crucial stopover between Mali and Algeria.
When an insurrection broke out in 2012, the region was one of the first in Mali to fall into the hands of the rebels.
It was taken over by the CMA in 2013 following military intervention by France, and has remained in their hands despite a 2014 attempt by the Malian army to regain control.
In 2015, the rebels signed the so-called Algiers peace agreement with pro-government armed groups and the state.
The 2012, insurrection paved the way for armed groups linked to Al-Qaeda to conquer most of the north, triggering France’s intervention and plunging the Sahel into war that has left thousands dead.
The Al-Qaeda-affiliated militant alliance now operates over large swathes of the north and center of Mali as well as on the outskirts of the capital Bamako.
In the northeast, groups affiliated to Daesh have extended their hold over almost all of the Menaka region.
The insurgency that erupted in northern Mali in 2012 spread to Niger and Burkina Faso in 2015.
Following back-to-back coups in 2020 and 2021, the Malian junta pushed out France’s anti-rebel force in 2022.
Northern Mali has seen a series of attacks on the army in recent weeks which coincides with the ongoing withdrawal of the UN stabilization force MINUSMA.
MINUSMA has been handing over its camps to Malian authorities, but the separatists claim they should be returned to their control.
The UN mission has still to vacate its camp at Kidal and two other sites further north by the end of December.
Mali’s junta chief Col. Assimi Goita, speaking on the anniversary of the West African nation’s 1960 independence from France last month, pledged to retake control of the country from militant groups and rebels.
Ex-Nigerian oil minister faces bribery charges
- Diezani Alison-Madueke is the second high-profile Nigerian politician to face prosecution in Britain in recent years
LONDON: A former Nigerian oil minister appeared in court in London on Monday charged with receiving bribes in the form of cash, luxury goods, flights on private jets and the use of high-end properties in Britain in return for awarding oil contracts.
Diezani Alison-Madueke was Nigeria’s minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015, during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Appearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, she spoke only to give her name, date of birth and address. She was not asked to formally enter a plea, although her lawyer Mark Bowen told the court she would be pleading not guilty.
She is the second high-profile Nigerian politician to face prosecution in Britain in recent years, following James Ibori, a former state governor who was convicted of fraud and money laundering in 2012 and received a 13-year jail sentence. Nigeria is Africa’s top oil producer but it suffers from systemic corruption in the political class which has hampered development and prevented its oil wealth from benefitting wider society.
Alison-Madueke was arrested in London in 2015, shortly after stepping down as minister, and was charged in August with six bribery offenses. She has spent the past eight years on police bail, living in St. John’s Wood, an expensive area of London.
The charges against her, read out in court, all related to events alleged to have taken place in London.
Prosecutor Andy Young said she was alleged to have accepted a wide range of advantages in cash and in kind from people who wanted to receive or continue to receive the award of oil contracts which he said were worth billions of dollars in total.
The advantages included a delivery of £100,000 ($121,620) in cash, the payment of private school fees for her son, and the use and refurbishment of several luxurious properties in London and in the English countryside.
They also included the use of a Range Rover car, payment of bills for chauffeur-driven cars, furniture, and purchases from the upmarket London department store Harrods and from Vincenzo Caffarella, which sells Italian decorative arts and antiques.
Pakistan launches anti-polio vaccine drive targeting 44m children
- 350,000 health workers will be going door-to-door to administer vaccine drops to children amid security
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan launched its second nationwide anti-polio campaign of the year Monday in an effort to inoculate 44 million children under the age of 5 amid signs the country was close to eradicating the disease.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul-Haq-Kakar launched the five-day vaccination campaign in the capital, Islamabad, and urged parents in a televised address to cooperate with the 350,000 health workers who are going door-to-door to administer vaccine drops to children.
The campaign was taking place under heavy security. The government deployed police and security forces to ensure the safety of the inoculation drive workers.
Vaccine providers and the police assigned to protect them have been attacked during past anti-polio campaigns, which militants falsely claimed were a Western conspiracy to sterilize children.
Pakistan has registered two new polio cases since January, a blow to the goal of eradicating a disease that affects the nervous system and can cause severe paralysis in children.
Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio continues to threaten the health and well-being of children.
Pakistan came close to eradicating polio in 2021, when only one case was reported, and last year reported about two dozen cases.
The cases so far this year were reported from northwestern Pakistan bordering Afghanistan, where the Taliban rulers last week launched a four-day polio vaccine drive targeted at children under 5. The health ministry said 11 million children were inoculated.
In 2022, only two polio cases were reported from Afghanistan, raising hopes for the eradication of disease. Five cases have been reported so far this year.
Before taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban had barred UN-organized vaccination teams from doing door-to-door campaigns in parts of the country under their control. The group apparently was suspicious the team members could be spies for the previous government or the West.
France hijab ban ‘against Olympic spirit’ — Islamic sports body
- ISSF said in its statement on Monday French ban could prevent some French Muslim athletes from competing
- French sports minister said last month French government was opposed to any display of religious symbols during sports
A group of sports federations from Muslim-majority countries said on Monday that France’s move to bar its Olympic athletes from wearing the hijab would “send a message of exclusion.”
The 57-member Islamic Solidarity Sports Federation (ISSF), based in the Saudi capital Riyadh, voiced “profound concern” over the French decision, which was taken in line with the country’s strict rules on secularism.
French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said last month the French government was opposed to any display of religious symbols during sporting events.
“What does that mean? That means a ban on any type of proselytising. That means absolute neutrality in public services,” she told France 3 television.
“The France team will not wear the headscarf.”
The ISSF said in its statement on Monday that the hijab was “an aspect of many Muslim women’s identity and should be respected,” adding that the French ban could prevent some French Muslim athletes from competing.
“The Olympics have historically celebrated diversity, unity and athletic excellence,” the statement said.
“By implementing a hijab ban for their athletes, a host would send a message of exclusion, intolerance and discrimination that goes against the Olympic spirit.”
The statement urged French authorities “to reconsider this ban” and called for “meaningful engagement with the Muslim sports community in France.”
The ISSF was founded in 1985 to serve members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, based in the Saudi city of Jeddah, “in all aspects of sports activities,” according to its website.
It has organized five editions of the Islamic Solidarity Games, most recently last year in Turkiye.
The UN human rights office has not addressed France’s hijab ban for its athletes directly, but a spokeswoman said last week that “no-one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear or not wear.”
Iraqi-born taxi bomber angry over asylum rejection, say UK police
- A police investigation has concluded that there was no evidence that Al-Swealmeen held extremist views
- He had previous convictions and had falsely claimed asylum as a Syrian refugee in the UK after arriving legally on a Jordanian passport
LONDON: An Iraqi-born man who detonated a bomb outside a UK hospital two years ago held a grievance against the British state for rejecting his asylum claim, police said Monday.
Emad Al-Swealmeen, 32, was killed when he set off the homemade device in a taxi outside Liverpool Women’s Hospital in northwest England in November 2021.
No one else died in the botched attack, with the taxi driver managing to escape with minor injuries.
The explosion occurred shortly before events to honor military war dead on Remembrance Sunday and was quickly declared a terrorist incident by police.
A police investigation has concluded that there was no evidence that Al-Swealmeen held extremist views.
“It seems most likely that Al-Swealmeen’s grievance against the British state for failing to accept his asylum claim compounded his mental ill health which in turn fed that grievance and ultimately a combination of those factors led him to undertake the attack,” the police report said.
Detective Superintendent Andy Meeks, of the counter-terrorism unit for England’s northwest, said it was believed Al-Swealmeen planned to detonate his bomb in the hospital, but that it likely exploded earlier than planned.
The explosion came a month after a British MP was stabbed to death as he met constituents in southeast England.
The two attacks prompted the government to raise the terror threat level from “substantial” to “severe” — the second-highest — meaning an attack was “highly likely.”
Al-Swealmeen had previous convictions and had falsely claimed asylum as a Syrian refugee in the UK after arriving legally on a Jordanian passport.
His asylum claims had been refused and counter-terrorism police have suggested that Al-Swealmeen may have converted to Christianity in the hope of strengthening his case to stay.
