In his nightly video address on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that special groups have been organized by Russia to gather and conceal the bodies of individuals who lost their lives as a result of the breach of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.
“The Russian evil has formed special groups there to remove and, obviously, hide the victims’ bodies,” Zelenskyy said.

He added that the situation in the Russian-occupied parts of the region was “catastrophic, to put it mildly.”

The destruction of the dam unleashed flooding across large parts of the battleground.

Farmland was destroyed and the water supply to civilians was cut.

Ukrainian authorities have put the number of fatalities at 21, including five people who died from what they described as Russian shelling during evacuation.

While Russian officials put the death toll at 46.

Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for being behind the breach.
The United Nations has put Russian forces and affiliated armed groups on its “list of shame” over the killings of children in Russia’s war in Ukraine, news agencies reported on Thursday, citing documents reporters had seen.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in an annual report to the Security Council that he was “appalled” by the high number of “grave violations” against children in Ukraine in 2022.

“I am particularly shocked by the high number of attacks on schools and hospitals and protected personnel, and by the high number of children killed and maimed attributed to the Russian forces and affiliated armed groups,” Guterres said.

The UN chief said Russian forces and proxy armed groups were listed for carrying out 480 attacks on schools and hospitals, and for killing children, mainly through their shelling and air strikes on towns and cities.

As per the report, 136 Ukrainian children were killed, while 518 others were injured.

The report is scheduled for a public release next week.