Russia tells UN court Ukraine shelled Kherson
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Alexander Shulgin told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday that Ukraine is responsible for the recent blast.
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Volunteers evacuate a family from a flooded neighborhood in Kherson Ukraine on June 7, 2023. (AP)
A top Russian ambassador has told the United Nations court in The Hague that Ukraine used artillery attacks to demolish a critical dam in the Russian-controlled Kherson area.
Russia and Ukraine have exchanged blame for the blast of the Soviet-era Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, which brought floods pouring over southern Ukraine's combat zone early Tuesday, causing tens of thousands to escape.
Alexander Shulgin told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday that Ukraine is responsible for the recent blast.
According to Shulgin, "The Kiev regime not only launched massive artillery attacks against the dam on the night of June 6, but it also deliberately raised the water level of the Kakhovka reservoir to a critical level" by opening sluice gates at a hydroelectric plant beforehand.
The ambassador also accused Ukraine of lacking "moral authority" and detailed its oppression of people in eastern Ukraine. "This regime rose to power on the back of a violent coup in 2014 on the shoulders of nationalists who were the direct descendants of the Nazi collaborators in World War II," Shulgin described.
NGOs have warned that there would be severe environmental repercussions after the dam was demolished Tuesday, forcing thousands to flee.
Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin revealed on social media that 600 square kilometers of the Kherson region are submerged.
Russia's head of Kherson Vladimir Saldo detailed that the Ukrainian strikes killed 2 people at a civilian evacuation point. "Fighters from the Kiev regime committed a heinous crime. They shelled a civilian evacuation point in Gola Prystan. Two people were killed, including a 33-year-old pregnant woman. Two more people were wounded."
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday called the attack a "barbaric act" while speaking to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Hundreds of Ukrainians were rescued from roofs in the flood-ravaged area of Kherson on Thursday while Kiev continues to deny that it has begun its counteroffensive against Russia.
