Russia is using ‘scorched earth tactics’ to destroy Ukraine

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam has unleashed an ‘environmental and humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions’, the Kherson governor tells Bel Trew

Volunteers transport a woman on a stretcher during evacuation of a flooded neighbourhood on the left bank of the Dnipro River, in Kherson, Ukraine, on Friday (AP)

Russia is using “scorched-earth tactics” to devastate Ukraine and deal a “blow” to global food security, Kherson’s governor has said, after the destruction of a key dam in the southern region heralded the worst ecological disaster in Europe’s recent history.

Speaking to The Independent, Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian forces were also heavily shelling Kherson and its evacuation routes, resulting in the hospitalisation of rescue workers, police officers and medics who had raced to help those worst affected by the disaster.

Kyiv accused Moscow of deliberately blowing up the Kakhovka dam last week to prevent Ukrainian troops from advancing in the southern Kherson region. The dam, located in the Kherson region, has been under Russian occupation control since the early days of the war, which began in February 2022. Moscow has blamed the destruction of the dam on Ukraine.