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UN urges Russia to allow aid workers into Ukraine dam collapse area – JURIST

The UN implored Russia on Monday to allow UN aid workers into the area of the Kakhovka Dam collapse. Russia has denied entry to aid workers due to alleged safety concerns, according to a Kremlin spokesperson.The UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, alleged that UN aid workers were denied entry into the Kakhovka Dam area, currently under Russian military control, saying:The Government of the Russian Federation has so far declined our request to access the areas under its temporary military control. The UN will continue to engage to seek the necessary access. We urge the Russian authorities to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law. Aid cannot be denied to people who need it.Brown has been raising concerns over the organization’s ability to access the region for the last few days. On June 13 Brown said “Operationally, we have boats, personnel and supplies ready to go. However, the Russian Federation is yet to provide the safety guarantees we need to cross the front line to the left bank of the Dnipro River, including to Oleshky.”Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed the area was unsafe, stating “The area is regularly shelled. There are regular provocations there, civilian facilities are shelled, people are shelled, people are killed, so things are complicated. It’s very hard to ensure their security.”Despite the impasse, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that since the collapse, 5,000 people received assistance from OCHA and its partners.Ukrainian officials allege that Russian forces destroyed Kakhovka Hydroelectric Dam, while Russia has blamed Ukrainian forces. The destruction of the dam has raised serious long-term and short-term humanitarian concerns over the consequences of the resulting flooding.UN official Martin Griffiths has warned that the destruction of the dam is “potentially the most significant incident of damage to civilian infrastructure since the start of the invasion.”The World Health Organization (WHO) representative to Ukraine has stated that WHO’s major concern in the flooded area is the outbreak of waterborne and rodent-borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid.Reports from the affected region allege that rescue boats have been shot at by Russian forces, making it near impossible to access those in need. The Associated Press (AP) interviewed families rescued from the flooding. Vitalii Shpalin was injured by gunfire during his rescue, later telling AP “They [Russians] let the boats through, those coming to rescue people. But when the boats were full of people, they started shooting.” Shpalin survived the attack, however, three on the same boat were killed and eleven were injured. AP obtained drone footage of Russian forces firing on an evacuation boat, corroborating Shpalin’s claims.