More than 17,000 people are being evacuated after a major dam in Ukraine was breached yesterday. Ukraine’s President Zelensky says the dam was “mined by Russian occupiers” who “blew it up”.
Moscow denies this – and suggests Ukrainian shelling may be to blame, reports the BBC. At least 24 different settlements in the Kherson region are already flooded, Ukraine’s interior ministry says.
A state of emergency has been declared in the Nova Kakhovka district and the water level is reported to have risen to more than 11m (36ft). EU Council President Charles Michel blames the attack on Russia, saying the destruction of civilian infrastructure was a “war crime”. The US and Canada have both expressed concern over the dam destruction in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian region of Kherson.
A Biden administration official said the US is “very concerned” by the dam breach and Washington is trying to find out more about the potential impact, Reuters news agency reports. Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters the destruction was “another example of the horrific consequences of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine”.