Floods have broken out in a war zone in southern Ukraine after explosions at a Soviet-era dam.
Videos on social media showed explosions around the Kakhova dam in the Moscow-controlled Kherson region.
Unverified clips showed the shock of bystanders as water gushed through the remains of the 1956-built dam, which is 30 yards high, two miles long and holds an amount of water equal to that of the Great Salt Lake. from Utah.
The Ukrainian military said that Russian forces had blown up the dam, while Russian sources blamed Ukraine, reported Reuters.
❗️In 5 hours, the water will be at a critical level, – the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration Prokudin
The evacuation of people from dangerous areas has begun.
The HPP Kakhovka was blown up by the Russian terrorist. This is a real ecological disaster. pic.twitter.com/svUorLbfzd
— Maria Drutska 🇺🇦 (@maria_drutska) June 6, 2023
The dam was built on the Dnipro River as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant and also supplies water to Russia-annexed Crimea and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is also under Moscow’s control.
Officials based in Russia said there was still no danger to the nuclear plant, which is the largest in Europe.
Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, saying there was flooding in at least eight settlements as authorities brace for more flooding across the region. He said evacuations are underway and the flooding has put at least 16,000 people at risk.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information.
Screenshot via Twitter