SEVERAL HUNDRED PEOPLE have taken part in a protest at the Russian Embassy in Dublin in response to the destruction of a major dam in Ukraine.
The destruction of the Kahovka dam on the Dnipro River on Tuesday unleashed a torrent of water that has left 600 square kilometres of the region under water.
Ukraine accuses Russia, whose forces control the dam area, of blowing up the dam and the Ukrainian government has also sounded the alarm over the environmental impact, calling it “a crime of ecocide”.
Voluntary group Ukrainian Action in Ireland organised this evening’s protest and called for an end to “Russian ecocide”.
The group said “villages and cities are gone underwater, and thousands of people and animals are in danger”.
Artem Nedostup is one of the leaders of the group and told The Journal that this evening’s protest is about contributing to the “big picture” and “common goal” of freedom in Ukraine and the end of Russian aggression.
He added that people could never have predicted that such damage would happen to the dam and that it created a strong reaction from people.
“We have lived through a series of devastating and horrible events, and there are people in our group who have lost loved ones.”
Part of this evening’s protest included rotting fish and Artem said this was to show how great the ecological catastrophe is.
Video captured in the aftermath of the dam’s collapse has shown large quantities of beached fish lying on the depleted shore of the Dnipro River.
Meanwhile, Yulia told The Journal that her and her husband’s parents live close to the dam.
She said people are suffering from a lack of drinking water and that animals are also suffering.
The Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group said the consequences for wildlife would be felt over an area of at least 5,000 square kilometres (almost 2,000 square miles).
“Some species may have suffered a greater blow in one day on June 6 than in the last 100 years,” it said.
Elsewhere, director and playwright Peter Sheridan told The Journal that the blowing up of the dam has “really enraged Ukrainians”.
Russian state media has claimed that Ukraine damaged the dam by targeting it with its Olkha multiple missile launcher, citing an unnamed source.
No evidence has emerged to support this claim.
Sheridan said there’s an “anger” that some people are backing Russia’s claims and that some Ukrainians have “felt let down and hurt” because of this.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin today announced €1 million of Irish Aid support following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.
He said the funding will support the work of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society and will provide immediate and urgent humanitarian needs on the ground.
Martin added that the incident has placed “extraordinary pressure on an already vulnerable population”.
A spokesperson from the Department of Foreign Affairs added: “The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam could result in fields in southern Ukraine turning into deserts as early as next year and has already been labelled as a biosphere catastrophe that, beyond agriculture in the area, has destroyed the environment and devastated local wildlife.
“Following the return of the water levels to normal, water pollution and potential health hazards are expected to be very high.”
-With additional reporting from Diarmuid Pepper
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