Major dam collapse in southern Ukraine triggers emergency

A major dam in southern Ukraine collapsed triggering floods, endangering Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war rushed to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the emergency.

The collapse of the structure at the southern tip of the vast Kakhovka Reservoir on Tuesday unleashed a torrent of water, adding to the misery of thousands of people who have been caught on the front lines of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Around 42,000 people were at risk from flooding in Russian and Ukrainian controlled areas along the Dnipro River after Nova Kakhovka dam collapsed. Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the collapse of the massive dam.

Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station, which sits on the Dnieper River in an area Moscow has controlled for more than a year. Russian officials blamed Ukrainian bombardment in the contested area, where the river separates the two sides.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said 80 towns and villages may be flooded after the destruction of the dam at Nova Kakhovka, which he blamed on Russia. Water is surging down the Dnipro river, and is said to pose a catastrophic flooding risk to the city of Kherson. Volodymyr Zelensky called it the largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades.