In the early hours of 6 June, the sound of explosions were heard before the Nova Kakhovka dam collapsed. The dam, on the Dnipro River, lies about 30km east of the city of Kherson. As torrents of water were unleashed, thousands of people were displaced in the region, parts of which were submerged underwater.
Iryna Tolstykh, 39, is a psychologist and coordinator of the UNFPA-supported Survivor Relief Centre who woke to news that the vast and vital dam had been destroyed. She has pivoted from counselling to relief efforts in the city that is her home. Here she shares her days in the aftermath of the breach.
“I’ll tell you one thing: I really, really want to live. I love life more than ever.” says Iryna. “I love my arms and legs, because I never thought it would be so easy to lose them. I love my home, because it is where I recover. I value people so much. It is only with a person that you can get warm, that you can share your grief and know that you are not alone in this injustice. A lot of unnecessary things have disappeared, and only the real things remain.”
[Pictured above] Iryna, a psychologist with UNFPA (right) and her colleague Andrii, a driver, have been responding to the devastating crisis in her city of Kherson. © UNFPA Ukraine/Danylo Pavlov.