Kherson/ Ukraine: A footage circulating on social media showed the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River in Ukraine’s Kherson region having washed away, according to The Guardian.
Accusing Russia of blowing up the dam, Ukrainian authorities urged people living the downstream to evacuate to safer places, warning flooding.
The army’s Southern Operational Command alleged on Facebook that Russian troops occupying Ukraine blew up the hydroelectric dam.
Oleksandr Prokudin, who is the governor of the Kherson region, announced that as many as 16,000 people were living in the ‘critical zone’ on the right bank of the river controlled by Ukraine.
The governor further said that people are being evacuated to districts upstream of Kherson city, The Guardian said.
Destruction of the dam could adversely affect Ukraine’s plans for any assault against the occupying Russian forces across the river.
Ukraine president’s adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said that breaching of the dam was aimed at creating ‘ insurmountable obstacles’ against the advancing Ukrainian army, thus to slow down its progress.
Russian authorities stationing in the town of Nova Kakhovka initially denied any involvement but later blamed it on Ukrainian shelling.
However, an official from Kherson emergency services told Interfax news agency that the collapse of the bridge stemmed from structural weakness.
Reacting to the disaster, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy tweeted the destruction of the dam confirms that Russians must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land.
A Russian military blogger Rybar claimed that dam’s 11 out of 28 spans were destroyed in the explosions at 2am.
Another blogger said there were no missile attacks on the dam before its breach as was reported in the media.
Videos ran by Russian channels showed civilians evacuating.
The islands along the cost of Dnipro downstream and Russian-held left bank in Southern Kheron are most under the threat of flooding.