Kremlin accuses Ukraine of shelling rescue teams
The Kremlin accused Ukraine of shelling Russian rescue teams in the occupied part of the Kherson region hit with massive flooding following damage to the Kakhovka dam.
Kherson is partially-occupied by Russian forces and both Russian and Ukrainian rescue teams have been working to evacuate and rescue residents in flooded settlements along the Dnipro river, with Ukraine focused on those on the Ukrainian-held west bank and Russia on the east.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Thursday that ongoing fighting was making rescue work harder.
“The difficulty is that in a lot of places they (the rescuers) are forced to work in conditions of ongoing shelling from Ukraine, and this complicates their work,” Peskov said, according to comments translated by Reuters.
He did not provide evidence for his claim. Ukraine has also accused Russia of shelling rescue teams.
Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was monitoring the situation in the region, but did not currently have any plans to visit, Reuters reported. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Kherson today, meeting rescue teams involved in evacuations.