Nine people were injured Thursday in Russian shelling in the Kherson region as it deals with massive flooding from the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, according to Ukrainian officials. The attacks came shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Kherson. Moscow meanwhile accused Ukraine of killing two people at an evacuation point in the Russian-controlled side of the Dnipro River. Follow our blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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05:11am: Biden, Sunak vow to stick together on Ukraine
President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday reiterated their commitment to help Ukraine repel Russia's ongoing invasion.
The 15-month-old Russian invasion of Ukraine was high on the agenda. The US and UK are the two biggest donors to the Ukraine war effort and play a central role in a long-term effort announced last month to train, and eventually equip, Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets.
Biden reiterated confidence that Congress would continue to provide Ukraine funding as needed despite some hesitation among Republican leaders at the growing cost of the war for American taxpayers.
“The US and the UK have stood together to support Ukraine,” Biden said at the start of their meeting."
9:55pm: Reservoir water still cooling Ukraine nuclear plant near destroyed dam: IAEA
The UN nuclear watchdog has said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was continuing to receive water from a reservoir after the Kakhovka dam was damaged, refuting the dam operator's assertion that the reservoir could no longer supply water.
"Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is continuing to pump cooling water from the Kakhovka reservoir," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement.
Earlier Thursday the operator of the dam said the water level had fallen below the level needed to feed the power plant with water.
9:05pm: Ukraine asks Europe to double electricity supplies
Ukraine has called on Europe to double electricity supplies after Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure and the destruction of the Kahkovka dam.
"We asked Europe to increase" the supply from the current import ceiling of one gigawatt currently to the two gigawatts that the electricity grid handle, Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko told AFP.
Galushchenko was attending a conference outside of Paris organised by the International Energy Agency.
He said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest, which uses water supplied from the dam to cool its reactors, does not pose an immediate threat at this point but needs to be monitored.
7:25pm: Kakhovka dam's reservoir can no longer cool nuclear plant: operator
The reservoir which had been created by the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine can no longer supply water to cool reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the dam's operator said Thursday.
Ukrhydroenergo's chief executive Igor Syrota said the water level at the reservoir had gone "below the critical point of 12.7 metres (42 feet)".
This means it could no longer supply "the ponds at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station to cool the plant", he said on Ukrainian television.
The dam sits on the Dnipro River, forming a reservoir that provides the cooling water for the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe's largest, some 150 kilometres (90 miles) upstream.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi, who is due to visit the plant next week, said this week that the water could no longer be pumped if the level went below 12.7 metres.
6:18pm: Russian rights defender on trial over Ukraine war criticism
Oleg Orlov, co-chair of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, went on trial in Moscow Thursday over criticism of Russia's Ukraine campaign, which could see him jailed for up to five years.
Since the beginning of the offensive, the Russian government has heightened its repression with an array of legislation, including laws against discrediting the army.
FRANCE 24's Douglas Herbert has more on the crackdown in Russia of opponents of the Ukraine invasion.
6:05pm: Russian commander tells Putin how his forces repelled Ukrainian attack
A senior Russian commander on Thursday briefed President Vladimir Putin on how his forces had repelled a large-scale Ukrainian attack in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, the TASS news agency reported.
Earlier Thursday, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian forces had withstood fierce overnight attempts by Ukrainian troops to break through the frontline in Zaporizhzhia and had inflicted heavy losses on them.
The Russian defence ministry on Thursday evening released a video clip of an interview in which a commander, Colonel General Alexander Romanchuk, was seen explaining how Russian forces had held off the Ukrainian forces in Zaporizhzhia.
5:07pm: 'Incoming shells' hit Kherson’s Shipbuilders Square, a major evacuation point
FRANCE 24’s Gulliver Cragg, who was reporting in flood-hit Kherson when the shelling occurred earlier Thursday said one of the incoming rockets “hit at or near the Shipbuilders Square”.
Kherson City’s Shipbuilders Square is “one of two places where volunteers have been going in and out of the water with their boats to go and rescue people and animals from the flooded parts of the city”, Cragg explained.
3:22pm: Russia says it repelled Ukrainian offensive in Zaporizhzhia region
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said his forces had repelled overnight Ukrainian offensive in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
The offensive involved 1,500 Ukrainian forces and lasted two hours, according to Shoigun.
"Today at 1:30 am (2230 GMT) in the Zaporizhzhia area...there was an attempt to break through our defences," said Shoigu. "The enemy was stopped and retreated after heavy losses."
Ukraine has not commented on the Russian claim.
2:13pm: Ukraine reports deaths in Russian shelling of flood-hit Kherson
Ukraine said Thursday that people had been killed in Russian shelling of the Kherson city centre, as the region deals with massive flooding from the destruction of a dam in Russian-held territory.
"There are some civilians wounded and dead as a result of Russian shelling in the centre of Kherson, the number is being clarified," military spokesman Sergiy Sergeyev told AFP.
1:41pm: Kherson governor says Russian forces shelling city
Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and nearby coastal areas on Thursday, the regional governor said on Thursday.
Governor Oleksandr Prokudin made the remark on the Telegram messaging app as emergency workers tried to evacuate people following flooding caused by the destruction of the nearby Kakhovka dam on Tuesday.
A Reuters reporter in Kherson said he could hear what appeared to be artillery fire but was unable immediately to provide any details of the circumstances. Russia has accused Ukrainian forces of shelling rescue workers in Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson region.
1:16pm: Russia says Ukrainian shelling killed two evacuees in flood zone
Russia said Thursday that Ukrainian strikes killed two people at an evacuation point for civilians from the Kherson region, which was flooded after a dam in Russian-held territory was destroyed.
"Fighters from the Kyiv regime committed a heinous crime. They shelled a civilian evacuation point in Gola Prystan. Two people were killed, including a 33-year-old pregnant woman. Two more people were wounded," the Moscow-installed head of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said on Telegram.
1:15pm: Ukraine says it could lose millions of tonnes of crops after dam collapse
Ukraine could lose several million tonnes of crops because of flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in the southern part of the country, the Ukrainian agriculture ministry said on Thursday.
"Without a source of water supply, it is impossible to grow vegetables. Grain and oilseeds will be grown using an extensive model with low yields," the ministry said in a statement.
1:13pm: Two settlements attacked by drones, governor of Russia's Belgorod says
The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said in a statement posted on Telegram on Thursday that two settlements in the region had been attacked by drones.
Belgorod, which borders Ukraine's Kharkiv region, has come under repeated attack from Kyiv's forces in recent weeks.
1:11pm: Ukraine says flooding forces Russian retreat in Kherson region
Flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine has forced Russian troops to retreat by distances of five to 15 km (three to nine miles) in the Kherson region, a military spokesperson said.
Natalia Humeniuk, spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern command, told Ukrainian television the redeployment had "practically halved" Russian shelling in the region.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield situation. Russia did not immediately comment.
1:09pm: Ukraine says grandfather, father, grandson killed in Russian strike
Three generations of one family – a grandfather, father and grandson – were killed by Russian shelling in eastern Ukraine, police said Thursday.
"Russian troops shelled the Ukrainsk residential sector with artillery. A four-year-old boy, his father and grandfather were killed," the police said on social media, adding that four more children aged between three and 13 and an adult were injured.
12:56: Kherson residents flee after collapsed Kakhovka dam floods homes
Hundreds of people were evacuated from settlements along the southern stretch of Ukraine's Dnipro river on Tuesday after water burst through the breached Nova Kakhovka dam, submerging streets, homes and town squares further downstream. FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg reports from Kherson, Ukraine.
11:38am: Water level in Crimea canal remains stable despite dam breach, Russian-backed governor says
The water level in the North Crimean Canal, which carries water from the Kakhovka reservoir behind the breached Kakhovka dam to the Crimean peninsula, remains stable, the Russian-appointed governor of Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, said on Thursday.
Crimea relies heavily on water transported by the canal. Kyiv blocked the canal after Moscow seized the peninsula in 2014, causing years of acute water shortages.
11:36am: Kyiv says situation remains stable at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after dam collapse
The situation is stable and under control at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station and dam, Ukraine's nuclear energy company said on Thursday.
Energoatom said in a statement that "the situation remains stable and under control" and that the level of water in cooling ponds was 16.6 metres (54.5 ft), which it said was "quite enough to meet the needs of the station".
11:30am: Russia tells UN top court Ukraine attacked dam with artillery
Moscow accused Kyiv at the UN's top court Thursday of destroying a dam in Russian-held southern Ukraine with "massive" artillery strikes, rejecting Ukraine's claims that Russia was responsible.
"The Kyiv regime not only launched massive artillery attacks against the dam on the night of June 6, but it also deliberately raised the water level of the Kakhovka reservoir to a critical level" beforehand, Russian diplomat Alexander Shulgin told the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
10:40am: Zelensky visits flooded region of Kherson
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the flood-hit southern region of Kherson on Thursday as evacuations continued after the destruction of a major Russian-held dam on the front line.
Zelensky said he held a "working trip to Kherson region" where he discussed the "evacuation of the population from potential flood zones, elimination of the emergency caused by the dam explosion, (and the) organisation of life support for the flooded areas".
Zelensky praised the efforts from rescuers and volunteers who were continuing to evacuate residents from the Kherson region.
"In Kherson, I visited a crossing point where people are being evacuated from flooded areas. Our task is to protect lives and help people as much as possible. I thank the rescuers and volunteers! I thank everyone involved in this work!" Zelensky said.
10:12am: Five dead after Ukraine dam burst, reports RIA citing Russian-installed mayor
The Russian-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka said on Thursday that five people had died after the nearby Kakhovka dam burst on Tuesday, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported.
9:57am: Russia's Patrushev met Lukashenko in Minsk for security discussions, RIA reports
The secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko during a visit to Minsk, where the two men discussed security issues, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported on Thursday.
9:21am: South Africa's Ramaphosa discusses African peace mission with Putin
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa had a telephone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin where he briefed him on the upcoming African leaders peace mission to Russia and Ukraine, the South African presidency said on Thursday.
Putin expressed his desire to receive the peace mission, the presidency statement said.
9:19am: IAEA's Grossi says watchdog plans to rotate inspectors at Zaporizhzhia next week, RIA reports
The United Nations nuclear chief Rafael Grossi said on Thursday that the watchdog intends to rotate inspectors at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant next week, but that plans must be agreed with Russian and Ukrainian authorities, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported.
8:26am: Flooding over 600 square kilometres after Kakhovka dam breach, Ukraine says
Flooding from the Kakhovka dam breach extends over 600 square kilometres on the Ukrainian-held right bank of the Dnipro River and the Russian-held left bank, the region's governor said on Thursday.
"The average level of flooding is 5.61 metres. 600 square kilometres of the Kherson region are under water, of which 32 percent is the right bank and 68 percent is the left bank," Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of the Kherson region, said on social media.
05:05am: World Bank to assess damage after Ukraine dam destruction
The World Bank will support Ukraine by conducting a rapid assessment of damage and needs after Tuesday's destruction of a huge hydroelectric dam on the front lines between Russian and Ukrainian forces, a top bank official said on Wednesday.
Anna Bjerde, the World Bank's managing director for operations, said on Twitter the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam had "many very serious consequences for essential service delivery and the broader environment".
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, also writing on Twitter, said he spoke with Bjerde about the impact of the dam's collapse, and she assured him the World Bank would carry out a rapid assessment of the damage and needs.
Ukrainians abandoned inundated homes on Wednesday as floods crested across the south after the destruction of the dam, with Russia and Ukraine trading blame for the disaster.
Ukraine said the deluge would leave hundreds of thousands of people without access to drinking water, swamp tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural land and turn at least 500,000 hectares deprived of irrigation into "deserts".
Bjerde said the new damage assessment would build on the bank's previous analysis of damage to Ukraine's infrastructure and buildings, which estimated that it would cost $411 billion to rebuild Ukraine's economy after Russia's invasion.
10:35pm: Dam destruction increases mine threat, says Red Cross
The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine will have a catastrophic effect on locating landmines in the affected region, the Red Cross warned Wednesday.
"We knew where the hazards were," said Erik Tollefsen, head of the Weapon Contamination Unit at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). "Now we don't know. All we know is that they are somewhere downstream."
"This is a major concern because it will affect not just the population, but also all of those that are coming in to help," he added.
The ICRC had spent several months helping mine clearance operations in Ukraine, mapping and marking minefields and providing training and equipment, said Tollefsen.
"Now all of that has been washed away."
Read yesterday's live blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
Key developments from Wednesday, June 7:
Following a phone conversation with his Ukrainian counterpart on Wednesday, President Emmanuel Macron said that France would send aid to Ukraine "within the next few hours". Earlier in the day, newly re-elected Turkish President Recept Tayyip Erodgan proposed creating an international commission to probe the destruction of the Karkhova dam in a call with Volodymyr Zelensky.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday that he would chair a meeting on Thursday of an emergency coordination panel with Ukraine on the "outrageous destruction" of the Karkhova dam.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and Reuters)
