Father Ihnatiy Mosklyuk, superior of the Basilian Monastery in Kherson, recalled the situation after the June 6 explosion at the Kakhovka power station: the water level threatens to rise to the 4th-5th floors. People are evacuating their homes, Kherson is also under threat of flood. There would be serious environmental consequences.
Terrible scenes emerge from satellite images: water splashes with the fury of a rushing sea and floods the countryside, flooding everything. Ostensibly a slow overflow, in fact a wall of water that within hours reached the third floor of houses in Nueva Cajovca, the town that gave its name to the damaged dam. After missiles and cannons, the war has brought a variant of its destructive power to Ukrainians, with an explosion that caused the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam on 6 June, forcing several thousand people to hastily evacuate their homes. Had to be forced A drama, with the outline of an environmental catastrophe, that adds to the daily bulletin of horrors. We have a testimony from Father Ihnati Mosklyuk, superior of the Basilian Convent of Kherson, a city affected by the collapse of the dam.
What is the situation in Kherson after the explosion at the Kakhovka power plant?
The situation in Kherson is now critical, probably not in the city itself, but in the region, in the coastal areas upstream of the Dnieper River, as the water does not stop rising. 15% of the area of ​​Kherson city is at risk of flooding, especially two neighborhoods: Korabel and Ostriv, where there are buildings. There it is dangerous, because the water can go up to the fourth or fifth floor. At present people are being evacuated from this place. State Railways is also helping with evacuation trains to Kherson to take people away. Efforts are being made to avoid gatherings of people, as there is a risk that Russian troops will attack the civilian population. This is also a danger, so they are trying not to keep people in the city, but to take them to a safer place.
What could be the consequences of the collapse of the dam of the Kazovka hydroelectric station?
Firstly, the ecological consequences will be very strong, because nature will suffer, crops will suffer, animals living in forests will also suffer. Many have already suffered a lot, for example, the Kakhovka Zoo was completely filled. And now there is also a risk that the region will be left without water or electricity.
How is your community living these tragic events?
I am always reminded of the words of Pope Francis, who said that we cannot get used to war. But the human psyche also has a tendency to get used to explosions and all this. It may not be perfect, but such is human psychology. Of course, there is always a danger to life, here we often do not know whether we will live to dawn or not. And it’s psychologically depressing. But at the same time, it helps us to entrust ourselves to God in some way. This is how we lived in the monastery, leaving everything in the hands of God’s mercy.
