Ukraine: Soviet-era dam destroyed near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Ukrainians fled to trees and rooftops last night to escape flooding caused by the collapse of a dam Kyiv says was blown up by Russia.
Hundreds of thousands are said to be without clean water supplies following the breach, described by Ukraine officials as the biggest eco-diaster since Chernobyl.
Earlier, Ukrainian troops said they witnessed Russian soldiers being swept up in flood waters after the Nova Khakovka dam burst, adding that many were killed or injured in the aftermath of the dam collapse.
“No one on the Russian side was able to get away. All the regiments the Russians had on that side were flooded,” Capt Andrei Pidlisnyi told CNN.
It is likely that Russia deliberately attacked the dam to interfere with Ukraine’s plans for the upcoming offensive, he said.
Nearly 42,000 people remain at severe risk from flooding in Russian and Ukrainian-controlled areas along the Dnipro River after the Soviet-era Nova Kakhovka dam collapsed, as the United Nations aid chief warned of “grave and far-reaching consequences.”
Ukrainian officials estimated about 42,000 people were at risk from the flooding, which is expected to peak today.
