Rescuers work through the night to save animals after Ukraine dam blast

Residents were urged not to abandon pets on chains, or in cages, during the evacuation (Picture: UAnimalsENG/Reuters/EPA)

Volunteers have worked through the night to evacuate thousands of animals from catastrophic flooding after a dam was blown up in Ukraine.

Occupied by Russia since February 2022, Nova Kakhovka, in Kherson Oblast, was awoken by an explosion in the engine room of the hydroelectric power plant early yesterday.

Footage showed water surging through the remains, with levels racing up by metres in a matter of hours.

Ukraine and Russia blamed each other for the destruction of the massive dam, which has put 42,000 people at risk from flooding.

As more than 17,000 residents fled their houses on the banks of the Dnipro River, wading through knee-deep water, many had to abandon their pets and livestock to save themselves.

A map showing where the ‘catastrophic’ flooding is happening in southern Ukraine

This is where UAnimals, which works to shelter and rehabilitate animals during the Russian invasion, has stepped in.

Founder Oleksandr Todorchuk told Metro.co.uk that so far 10 buses and about 20 volunteers have been deployed to the scene of the catastrophe to help domestic and wild animals.

‘Kherson Oblast is rich in wild animals, like deer. Floodwater can kill thousands of animals, from domestic to wild ones,’ he said.

‘We deployed 10 buses to the flooded region in the morning. We work not only with pets like cats and dogs, but also wild and domestic animals, like cattle.

A local resident walks along a flooded street in Kherson with a dog in her arms (Picture: AP)

Many people prioritised rescuing their pets over personal belongings (Picture: Reuters)

‘We are doing our best to save them, but more animals will die than we can save.

‘When people are evacuating, they have no time or ability to take the animals, or even unlock rooms where they are sleeping, so this creates a huge problem.

‘Street animals also present a huge difficulty. It is the same for wild animals. No one helps them as usual, so we are trying to do our best.’

UAnimals has also brought several tonnes of pet food to distribute to shelters and owners whose belongings have perished in the floodwater.

People were forced to abandon their cars in the middle of the road and flee by foot (Picture: Reuters)

Evacuees keep warm with their pet cat (Picture: Reuters)

Mr Todorchuk admitted this will be a ‘very difficult’ week for his volunteers who he described as ‘heroes’.

The founder has previously warned wild and domestic animals are dying en masse in bombings and minefield explosions during the invasion.

Since the beginning of the war, his volunteers have travelled to some of the most treacherous parts of the frontline to evacuate animals, and thousands have been relocated to shelters in Kyiv and abroad, including 20 lions.

Currently, a large part of the team is coordinating the rescue efforts in villages on the right bank of the Dnipro River – Mykolayivka, Olhivka, Tyahynka, Ponyativka, Lyovo, Ivanivka, Tokarivka, Prydniprovske, Sadove, and part of Kherson – Korabel Island.

People queueing at a train station to leave the region (Picture: UPI/Shutterstock)

A dog is rescued on an inflatable boat in the flooded Korabel island (Picture: Getty)

More than £250,000 has been raised in the last 24 hours to help their work after the dam explosion.

Mr Todorchuk was unsure how many animals can be rescued in the region. It all depends on the level of devastation, how long it takes the teams to capture them and how quickly they can be rehomed.

‘I think we can save hundreds of animals,’ he said. ‘There is also the question of how many days we will be able to work there because of the war.

When Metro.co.uk spoke with him on Tuesday afternoon, his volunteers had just started their work, so there was no update on the number of animals they’ve saved so far.

Mr Todorchuk said fewer than 100 had been helped at the time, but he insisted that by this morning this number will have grown.

What has only worsened the already dire situation is that Russian forces began shelling flooded areas where evacuation efforts were ongoing, injuring at least two police officers.

‘For more than a year we have operated under a full-scale invasion, often working in occupied territories,’ he said.

‘It is really hard and dangerous because of constant bombings and mines, but we have learnt to work in such situations and Ukrainian soldiers guide us.

‘It is heartbreaking that we cannot help the entire southern region as part of it is still occupied by the Russian army, but we are communicating with shelters in that territory.’

Yesterday, Metro.co.uk reported that a zoo called Kazkova Dibrova, located on the bank of the Dnipro River, was completely flooded.

All of the animals drowned, apart from birds that could escape, Mr Todorchuk said.

Volodymyr Zelensky declared the dam destruction an ‘environmental bomb of mass destruction’, while the UN warned of ‘grave and far-reaching consequences’.

Residents on Nova Kakhovka were urged to take documents, food for three days and drinking water, and leave residential buildings. Thousands have already been evacuated.

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‘More animals will die than we can save.’