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A dam and hydroelectric power plant in a Russian-controlled part of southern Ukraine have been destroyed, unleashing a torrent of water and prompting fears of wide-scale flooding in the area downstream on the Dnipro river.
Ukrainian and Russian officials have urged local communities near the Nova Kakhovka dam to evacuate the area immediately.
What happened?
It is unclear what exactly destroyed the dam early on Tuesday, but from the images being broadcast from the scene, it appears that an explosion blew up a large part of the structure.
Videos showed the buildings around the entrance of the dam being heavily damaged, while a large body of water was seen gushing through a hole in the structure.
Who is to blame for destroying the dam?
Ukrainian and Russian officials have accused each other of blowing up the dam, although conflicting reports have emerged from Moscow-installed officials.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused “Russian terrorists” of destroying the dam and said the outrage “confirms for the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land”.
Moscow-installed official in Nova Kakhovka, Vladimir Leontev, told Russian state television that the damage to the dam was the result of a series of Ukrainian attacks.
However, Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in Zaporizhzhia, said the dam collapsed due to earlier damage and the pressure of the water.
Who controls Nova Kakhovka dam?
The dam is located in Russian-controlled territory near the major city of Kherson.
Russian forces captured Kherson in March 2022, but a successful Ukrainian counteroffensive retook the city in November 2022, as Russian troops retreated to the southern bank of the Dnipro river.
Russia still controls most of the territory on the southern banks downstream from the dam, while Ukraine controls the territories to the north of the river.
Why is the dam significant?
The dam, 30 metres (98 feet) tall and 3.2km (2 miles) long, was built in 1956 on the Dnipro river as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.
It supplies water to large swaths of southeastern Ukraine, as well as the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula.