The Washington Post: Amid the joy in Kherson, a humanitarian catastrophe is looming

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published by the American newspaper "Washington Post" described the feelings of joy and rejoicing among Ukrainians in Kherson after the withdrawal of Russian forces from it, but warned of a humanitarian catastrophe coming to the city.

The report said that citizens there wrapped themselves in their country's flags and hugged Ukrainian soldiers in the streets, and cheering voices resounded with cheers and horns of cars.

One foreign volunteer said that their arrival in the city was like the arrival of the Allied forces in Paris in 1944.

However, in the midst of the celebration, the humanitarian crisis in the region came into focus.

Many people in Kherson do not have heating, electricity, running water, or mobile phone service, and there is a shortage of food and medicine.

Ukrainian military officials said the city was not yet safe for large-scale humanitarian access, with the fact that Russian forces withdrew but put Kherson within their artillery range.

They will bomb the city

The report quoted Colonel Roman Kostenko, a member of parliament who serves in the Ukrainian army, as saying that the risk of Kherson being subjected to retaliatory bombing by the Russians is high, adding, "They will bomb the city."

A Ukrainian official described the situation as a "humanitarian catastrophe".

Yesterday, Saturday, reports of explosions at a dangerous dam, about 40 miles northeast of Kherson, cast an increasing shadow over the celebration of residents.

Yesterday, Jake Sullivan, National Security Adviser to US President Joe Biden, expressed cautious optimism about Russia's withdrawal from Kherson, describing it as a "big moment" for Ukrainian forces, and also reiterated that President Joe Biden's administration would not press for a diplomatic end to the war.

With the winter months fast approaching, military analysts are divided over the fate of the war and whether Ukrainian forces can continue to retake territory despite the logistical difficulties that come with the bitterly cold weather.

destroy the dam

For weeks, both the Ukrainians and the Russians warned that the other side would try to destroy the dam.

Military analysts said it would not be in either side's interest to destroy it, because doing so would have the effect of both armies being positioned on both banks of the river.

Satellite images showed that the area around the dam was damaged on Thursday and Friday, when Russian forces retreated.

Kyiv said it had no incentive to flood its territory, and the Russian accusations without evidence were a sign that Moscow was preparing to blow up the dam, which could flood 80 towns, villages and cities, including Kherson.

"Russia is intentionally laying the groundwork for a large-scale catastrophe in southern Ukraine," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a speech to the European Council last month.