Thursday, June 8

Russia’s war against Ukraine

Flooding in Kherson Oblast on June 6, 2023 after Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka dam. (Photo by Valentyna Gurova/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC “UA:PBC”/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

State Emergency Service: Water level in Kherson rises by 55 meters. The water level in Kherson has already reached 5.51 meters, Ukrinform reported on June 7, citing the State Emergency Service. The city was partially flooded after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam the day before.

Interior Minister: 29 settlements in Kherson Oblast flooded. Due to Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam, 29 settlements in Kherson Oblast have been flooded, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced on June 7. Over 1,800 people have been evacuated thus far.

Governor: Floods hit Mykolaiv Oblast, 13 settlements under threat. The floods caused by the Kakhovka dam destruction have reached Mykolaiv Oblast with at least 13 settlements under threat, Governor Vitalii Kim said on June 7.

Health Ministry: Thousands of fish have died in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. 

Tens of thousands of fish have died in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast after Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam the day before, the Health Ministry reported on June 7.

NYT: Experts point to deliberate explosion behind Kakhovka dam disaster.  Engineering and munitions experts point to a deliberate explosion as the most logical reason behind the Kakhovka dam explosion, the New York Times reported on June 7.

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Military: Ukrainian forces go on offensive near Bakhmut. Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on June 7 that Ukrainian forces were advancing on flanks near Bakhmut and Russian forces were losing ground.

Governor: Lviv airport may reopen **for humanitarian purposes.**The Lviv Danylo Halytskyi International Airport may resume operations for humanitarian purposes, Lviv Oblast Governor Maksym Kozytskyi said on June 6.

Polish farmers block trucks at Ukraine border crossing. Polish farmers blocked the movement of trucks from Ukraine at the Medyka-Shehyni border crossing, demanding increased support from Warsaw for the domestic agricultural sector, Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service announced on June 7.

Minister: 65% of bomb shelters audited **in Kyiv technically suitable for use.**Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin reported on June 7 that 65% of recently-surveyed bomb shelters in Kyiv are technically suitable for use and that the results of the audit are discouraging.

Ukraine wants to produce NATO-standard 155 mm shells. Ukraine’s state-owned military enterprise Ukroboronprom is attempting to begin production of the 155 mm artillery shells, the company’s spokesperson Natalia Sad said.

Read our exclusives

‘They are destroying us.’ People plea to escape flooded Russian-occupied areas

After destroying the Nova Kakhovka dam and stranding thousands of Ukrainians in the catastrophic flood zone, Russians prevented people in occupied territories from fleeing or rescuing others, multiple accounts revealed on June 7.

Photo: Khersonshchyna OleshkyKakhovka / Telegram

Ukraine war latest: 30 settlements flooded after Kakhovka dam destruction

The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported that Russian troops in the occupied settlements of Kozachi Laheri in Kherson Oblast blocked all possible escape routes and banned civilian evacuation.

Photo: Aleksey Filippov/AFP via Getty Images

Human cost of war

Exiled mayor: 3 dead **due to floods in Kherson Oblast.**Yevhen Ryshchuk, the exiled mayor of the Russian-occupied Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, reported on the first victims of the Kakhovka dam disaster on June 7. According to the latest information, three people drowned.

Prosecutors: 2 people killed **by Shahed drone attack in Sumy Oblast.**Two people were killed in Sumy Oblast by a Russian drone attack, the Sumy Oblast Prosecutor’s Office reported on June 7.

Governor: Russian attacks **in Donetsk Oblast kill 2 people over past 24 hours.**Two people were killed by Russian attacks in Donetsk Oblast over the past 24 hours, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko reported on June 7.

Prosecutors: 63 journalists from 14 countries killed by Russia’s war since Feb 24, 2022. The Prosecutor General’s Office reported on June 6 that 63 journalists from 14 countries, including Ukraine, have been killed by Russia’s war since the start of the full-scale invasion.

General Staff: Russia has lost 212,030 troops in Ukraine. The General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces reported on June 7 that Russia has lost 212,030 troops in Ukraine since the beginning of its full-scale invasion in February 2022, with an estimated 880 casualties on June 6.

Opinions and insights

Stephen Zhao: Tepid response to Kakhovka dam explosion paves way for nuclear disaster

“The only reaction from Ukraine’s Western partners over the ecological disaster of the scale of Chornobyl were words of concern and moral indignation,” writes Stephen Zhao, a director of the Dnipro River Foundation, in his recent op-ed.

Photo: Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Gorodnichenko, Sologoub: The Ukraine-Russia culture war

“The strength of Ukraine’s resistance has depended less on the military assistance provided by NATO members than on the Ukrainian people’s insistence on their own agency and destiny,“ write Yuriy Gorodnichenko and Ilona Sologoub, in their recent op-ed.

Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/ AFP via Getty Images

International response

Zelensky: International organizations must join rescue efforts in occupied parts of Kherson Oblast. International organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, must begin rescue efforts in the occupied parts of flooded Kherson Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 7.

World Bank decreases **Ukraine’s GDP growth forecast for 2023.**In its June report, the World Bank set Ukraine’s GDP forecast for the following year at 2%, compared to 3.3% in January.

Ukraine, OECD sign 4-year reconstruction, reform agreement. Kyiv and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) signed a four-year partnership agreement to support reform, recovery, and reconstruction in Ukraine, the OECD announced on June 7.

Ukraine’s partners provide millions in aid after Kakhovka dam disaster.

Ukraine’s international partners have provided $170 million in assistance following the Kakhovka dam disaster, and several EU countries have promised further aid.

UK PM on Kakhovka dam destruction**: ‘A new low’ for Russia if it’s responsible. **

U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on June 7 that U.K. military and intelligence agencies were looking into the destruction of the Kakhovka dam and that it would represent “a new low” for Russian aggression against Ukraine if the Kremlin is responsible for the disaster.

In other news

Lawyers: New head of top Ukrainian judicial body may have Russian citizenship. Roman Ihnatov, the newly-appointed head of Ukraine’s High Qualification Commission of Judges, may have Russian citizenship, lawyers told the Kyiv Independent.

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Today’s Ukraine Daily was brought to you by Oleg Sukhov, Rachel Amran, Teah Pelechaty, Kate Tsurkan, Dinara Khalilova, Toma Istomina, Martin Fornusek, Anastasiia Malenko, and Lili Bivings.

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