Ukrainian Beetroot Soup Floods Russian City in an Act of Subtle Vengeance

Residents of Zlatoust in the Chelyabinsk region of Russia discovered a red-colored liquid in their building basements on October 27. It turned out that several apartment buildings had been flooded with borsch, a traditional Ukrainian beetroot soup.

The local water utility company, "Vodokanal," stated that the residential buildings and a nearby soup production facility share the same sewage system.

The incident occurred due to contaminated sewage collectors, which led to borsch ending up in the basements. Residents called for septic tank cleaners, but 20 minutes after they left, the borsch reappeared in the buildings.

Locals reported that the area was filled with a strong smell of spoiled borsch.

"The water here is 80 centimeters high under the floor in our homes. Yesterday, they pumped it out for 4 hours; the red sludge was coming out. We worked for 4 hours pumping it. We just paid someone for the work. By the way, 14 trucks left from here. And the mosquitoes are swarming. It's all mosquitoes," one local resident said.

“The water is pink and smells of rotten onions. We started cleaning it up and found beetroots the size of a baby’s head,” commented another.

By November 1, the emergency situation had been resolved — the basements were drained, and water was diverted away from the buildings. The Investigative Committee promised to look into the causes of the incident.

Borsch, a traditional Ukrainian soup made of beetroot and other ingredients, was recognized by UNESCO as an element of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2022. Specifically, Ukrainian borsch culture was added to UNESCO's List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.

“We started cleaning it up and found beetroots the size of a baby’s head!”