Russia stops aid workers from entering dam collapse area, says it is unsafe

Dead fish in the dried-up Kakhovka Reservoir. Pic/AP

The Kremlin's spokesman said on Monday that UN aid workers who want to visit areas ravaged by the recent Kakhova dam collapse in southern Ukraine can't go there because of the fighting.

The UN had rebuked for allegedly denying aid workers access to Russia-occupied areas where residents are stranded amid "devastating destruction." The UN humanitarian coordinator for Ukraine, Denise Brown, said that her staff were engaging with both Kyiv and Moscow, which control different areas, in a bid to reach civilians who face a shortage of food, drinking water and a lack of power.

Brown urged Russia "to act in accordance with their obligations under international humanitarian law" and let them in. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov didn't admit that access was blocked, but said Ukrainian attacks made a visit too risky.

Troops posted along Belarusian border

The Ukrainian army has deployed significant forces along the Belarus border, Russia said. "The Ukrainian army has deployed significant forces along the Belarusian-Ukrainian border, periodically trying to probe the defence capability of the Union State in one way or another," said the head of the second department of the CIS countries at the Russian Foreign Ministry.

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