Ukraine-Russia war news – latest: Kyiv steps up counteroffensive with assault in Zaporizhzhia

A significant Ukrainian force has launched an assault on Russian lines in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.

The Kremlin has been claiming to have repelled Ukrainian attacks across various points for a number of days, but Russian military bloggers noted an increase in clashes overnight Wednesday and into Thursday.

Appearing to confirm an operation was underway, the Ukrainian deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said Russia was “actively on the defensive” in the Orihiv area of Zaporizhzhia region.

Zaporizhzhia – one of four partly occupied regions illegally annexed by the Kremlin – has long been seen as a likely point of a main Ukrainian strike, but Kyiv has worked to mask its plans by launching attacks on multiple points across the vast frontlines.

Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin’s forces have been accused of attacking the Ukrainian city of Kherson during evacuation efforts following the collapse of the nearby Kakhovka dam.

The Prosecutor General’s office said two other people were wounded in the incident and that four were hurt in a separate location, and that a war crimes investigation had been opened.

Key Points

• One killed in Russian 'targeted strikes' on Kherson during evacuation - Kyiv

• Mines dislodged by Kakhovka dam attack could pose danger ‘for decades’

• Dam attack will have ‘same long-term effect’ as Chernobyl, warns NGO

• Three killed in flooding in Kherson after dam collapse

• Ukraine holds initiative along multiple sectors of war frontline, says UK MoD

Ukraine goes on the attack in Zaporizhzhia – as counteroffensive steps up

21:13 , Eleanor Noyce

A significant Ukrainian force has launched an assault on Russian lines in the southern Zaporizhzhia region – with a surge in attacks that pointed towards its counteroffensive is shifting into high gear.

A number of US and Ukrainian officials suggested this was the start in earnest of Kyiv’s bid to reclaim territory lost to Russian occupation during Moscow’s invasion. Ukraine‘s commanders and government have always said there would be no official announcement of the start of the counteroffensive and there has been an increase in military activity all week.

The combat against Russian positions – including intense fighting outside of the town of Tokmak, a Russian logistical hub, is said to involve western-supplied tanks and armoured vehicles and infantry backed by artillery.

Chris Stevenson reports:

Ukraine goes on the attack in Zaporizhzhia – as counteroffensive steps up

Ukraine tells ‘clown’ Tucker Carlson to check his facts after pro-Kremlin rant in first Twitter show

20:20 , Sam Rkaina

The Ukrainian government has branded Tucker Carlson a “clown” and told him to check his facts after he launched a pro-Kremlin rant on his first Twitter show.

The former Fox News host told viewers that a “fair person would conclude” that Ukraine destroyed the Nova Kakhovka damn which collapsed and caused massive flooding in the country.

Carlson, a popular voice for the Kremlin, added that the dam was “effectively Russian” and that the damage “hurts Russia” more than Ukraine.

Click here for the full story.

'Graveyard' of dead fish forms in southern Ukraine after Kakhovka dam destruction

19:00 , Sam Rkaina

A graveyard of dead fish has formed in southern Ukraine after the Nova Kakhovka dam was breached.

Footage from the area close to the destroyed dam shows thousands of fish washed up in an area of ​​the reservoir, which has seen a rapid shallowing of the water.

“By blowing up the Kakhovskaya HPP, the aggressor caused an unheard-of act of ecocide, the victims of which were not only people, but also thousands of innocent animals,” the State Agency of Land Reclamation and Fisheries of Ukraine wrote, sharing the footage.

Trapped villagers saved from roofs in flooded south Ukraine as more await help

18:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Rescuers in boats have saved hundreds of people from the roofs of flooded houses after the massive dam breach in southern Ukraine, volunteers and officials said on Thursday, but others were getting more desperate as they waited for help.

Friends and family posted frantic appeals in online chatrooms with names, photos and GPS locations of residents, including some children and many elderly people, who were still waiting to be picked up.

The coordinator of a volunteer group on the Telegram messaging app said the appeals were arriving continuously and getting more urgent than the day before because people were running out of food and drinking water.

Ukraine and Russia have both accused each other of blowing up the giant Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River, which burst in the early hours of Tuesday. On the Russian-controlled left bank of the river, Moscow-installed officials have ordered residents of several districts to evacuate.

Vladimir Saldo, the top Russian-installed official in the Kherson region, said midday Thursday that approximately 4,300 people had been evacuated, including 171 children and 42 people with disabilities. More than 14,000 homes have been flooded, emergency services said.

Another official, Andrei Alekseyenko, said the level of the Dnipro had risen to 12 metres in the worst-hit areas, Oleshky and Hola Prystan. He said 344 people had been saved by boat from roofs and upper floors.

In Telegram channels, some people sent grateful messages for successful rescues.

Satellite images reveal scale of destruction after Nova Kakhovka dam attack

17:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Satellite images have revealed the damage from the massive collapse of a major dam and hydroelectric power plant in southern Ukraine.

The critical soviet-era Nova Kakhovka dam, which lies along the Dnipro river in Russia-held Kherson, was blown up on Tuesday and collapsed soon after, sending water gushing into nearby villages and towns in the region with a 42,000-strong population.

The UN said the collapse will have “catastrophic” and “far-reaching consequences” for thousands of people with the loss of homes, food, safe water and livelihoods even as Russia and Ukraine traded accusations over the incident.

The latest satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies to The Independent on Tuesday showed the “largely destroyed” Nova Kakhovka dam and the hydroelectric plant as well as wide swathes of heavily flooded towns and villages.

Satellite images reveal scale of destruction after Nova Kakhovka dam attack

Cat rescued from devastating Kherson floods after damn collapse

17:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

A cat was rescued from flooding in Kherson after the destruction of a huge hydroelectric dam on front lines between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

The Kakhovka dam, under Russian control, was blown up on Tuesday, 6 June, collapsing shortly after.

Water has surged into nearby villages, causing widespread flooding in region with a 42,000-strong population.

The incident constitutes a “war crime,” Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

It is the “largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades,” the Ukrainian president added.

Cat rescued from devastating Kherson floods after damn collapse

Ukraine on manoeuvres in its counterpunch against Russia: ‘This is our big shot we can’t screw it up’

16:30 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The blowing up of the Nova Kakhovka dam will delay an expected armoured thrust in the area by Ukrainian forces, but military action in the preliminary stages of Kyiv’s counteroffensive continues across the frontline, writes Kim Sengupta.

The route along the dam near Kherson was one the Ukrainians would have taken to move armour – like tanks – and heavy equipment. There were also plans for landings on islands downstream, where fierce clashes have been taking place for some time. The submerging of these pathways means that tactics are redrawn and troops and weapons repositioned.

Ukraine on manoeuvres in its counterpunch against Russia: ‘This is our big shot’

WHO rushes supplies to Ukraine, readies to tackle disease in flood areas

16:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The World Health Organisation has rushed emergency supplies to flood-hit parts of Ukraine and are preparing to respond to an array of health risks including trauma, drowning and waterborne diseases like cholera, officials said on Thursday.

Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the bursting of the Soviet-era Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, which sent waters cascading across the war zone of southern Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday, forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.

“The impact of the region’s water supply sanitation systems and public health services cannot be underestimated,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing.

“The WHO has rushed in to support the authorities and health care workers in preventive measures against waterborne diseases and to improve disease surveillance.”

Watch: Zelensky visits flood-hit Kherson to survey damage after dam breach

15:35 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky visited Kherson following widespread flooding caused by the collapse of nearby Kakhovka dam.

Ukraine fears losing millions of tons of crops after dam collapse

15:13 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Ukraine could lose several million tons of crops because of flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in the south 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.

The ministry said the dam’s destruction would flood tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural land in southern Ukraine and could turn at least 500,000 hectares of land left without irrigation into “deserts”.

The ministry said the flooded land would require a full agro-ecological assessment of the soil condition and in most cases special soil restoration methods would need to be applied.

It said vegetables, melons, grains and oilseeds were the main products which were grown on the affected land.

Ukraine is a major global grain and oilseeds grower and exporter.

The destruction of the dam on Tuesday, which Ukraine and Russia blame on each other, has also made it impossible to navigate parts of the Dnipro River and deprived Kyiv of an important agricultural export route, shipping authorities said.

Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky also said the farm sector’s losses could be much higher than previously expected because the disaster inflicted “years” of damage on irrigation.

One killed in Russian 'targeted strikes' on Kherson during evacuation - Kyiv

14:01 , Eleanor Noyce

At least one person was killed after Russian forces shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson in “targeted strikes” during evacuation efforts amid massive flooding, Ukraine’s prosecutor general said on Thursday.

“Due to targeted strikes by the occupiers during evacuation measures in the city, a civilian died,” it said in a statement on Telegram. “Two more people were injured. The data is being verified.”

Mapped: The damage caused by Ukraine’s devastated dam

14:00 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

War-torn Ukraine is reeling from the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, which saw its reservoir burst causing chaos for miles around.

The catastrophe on Tuesday forced thousands of residents of nearby towns and villages to evacuate their homes as the floodwater barrelled towards them and left some climbing onto rooftops or into trees to escape the raging torrents.

Hundreds of thousands more have been left without access to clean drinking water in the region as a result of the eco-disaster on the Dnipro River, prompting relief workers to rush fresh supplies to the area as they struggle with the problems of mass resettlement.

Mapped: The damage caused by Ukraine’s devastated dam

Russian forces shell Kherson during flood evacuation

13:35 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

At least three people were wounded in Russian shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kherson on Thursday as people were being evacuated because of flooding caused by the collapse of the nearby Kakhovka dam, police said.

“The shelling began precisely during the evacuation of citizens whose homes were flooded,” Ukraine‘s Interior Ministry said in a statement.

It reiterated accusations that Russia has abandoned people in territory it has occupied in the Kherson region, adding: “And it continues to prevent Ukraine from saving the most valuable - human lives.”

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.

Kherson lies on the Dnipro, about 60 km (37 miles) downstream from the Kakhovka dam.

Kherson governor Oleksandr Prokudin said earlier on Thursday that 68% of the flooded territory in the Kherson region was on the Russian-occupied left bank of the Dnipro River.

Russia has accused Ukrainian forces of shelling rescue workers in Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson region, and each side blames the other for the destruction of the Kahkovka Hydroelectric Station and dam on Tuesday.

Sunak condemns ‘appalling act’ of destruction of Kakhovka dam

13:10 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The destruction of of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine was an “appalling act,” Rishi Sunak has said.

Speaking to broadcasters on his trip to the US, the Prime Minister said: “We’re still establishing definitively the cause of the attack on the dam in Ukraine, but I want people to know we’re playing our part to support the Ukrainians in their response.”

He added: “This is an appalling act and hundreds of thousands of people are being affected by it.”

Mr Sunak also condemned Russia‘s “illegal, unprovoked act of aggression” in invading Ukraine.

Kherson governor says Russian forces shelling city

12:41 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

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.

Kremlin accuses Ukraine of shelling Russian rescuers in dam flood zone

11:57 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The Kremlin on Thursday accused Ukraine of shelling Russian rescue workers in the area flooded after the huge Kakhovka dam in Ukraine‘s Kherson region was breached earlier this week

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian rescue workers in the area were working hard, but said the Ukrainian military was making their work more dangerous.

“The difficulty is that in a lot of places they (the rescuers) are forced to work in conditions of ongoing shelling from Ukraine, and this complicates their work,” Peskov told reporters.

He did not provide any immediate evidence for his assertion.

Ukrainian officials on Wednesday accused Russian forces of shelling rescue workers on the Kyiv-held right (west) bank of the Dnipro river. Moscow controls the left (east) bank.

The breach of the Kakhovka dam on Tuesday has led to massive flooding of the Dnipro river estuary downstream, with thousands evacuated and settlements on both side of the river inundated by water.

Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin was monitoring the situation in the region, but did not currently have any plans to visit the disaster area.

11:38 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The water level at a reservoir in southern Ukraine is approaching a dangerous low after the destruction of the dam at the nearby Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station, the state company overseeing the facility said on Thursday.

Moscow and Kyiv blamed each other for the collapse of the dam on Tuesday, which unleashed flood water from the Dnipro River on a wide area of southern Ukraine.

Ihor Syrota, general director of Ukrhydroenergo, told Ukrainian television that a drop below the current water level at the Kakhovka Reservoir could affect the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station and water supply to other regions.

“We are reaching this dead zone, which is 12.70 (meters), after which there will be not be any water intake either for the cooling ponds at the Zaporizhzhia station...or...for all regions.”

The U.N. atomic watchdog said on Tuesday the plant, Europe’s largest, has enough water to cool its reactors for “several months” from a pond located above the reservoir.

Ukraine‘s nuclear energy company said on Thursday the situation was “stable and under control” at the Zaporizhzhia plant on Thursday morning.

Syrota added that Ukrhydroenergo was ready to work on an overlay across the damaged hydroelectric station and dam as soon as Russian forces left the eastern side of the Dnipro, and that it would take about two months to complete.

Zelensky won’t attend G20 summit in India, New Delhi confirms

11:17 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Volodymyr Zelensky will not attend the main G20 conference as invites for the summit this year were sent out only to the members of the Group of 20, host country India has confirmed.

The confirmation by Delhi has put an end to speculation and expectations that Mr Zelensky would participate in the event that will bring together world leaders of major economies in Delhi.

Mr Zelensky had recently met Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in Hiroshima, Japan on the sidelines of the G7 summit.

Speaking during a special press conference marking nine years of the foreign policy of the Narendra Modi government, foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said invitations were being sent out to G20 members only.

Zelensky won’t attend G20 summit in India, New Delhi confirms

Watch: Ukrainian drones drop water bottles to citizens stranded in Kherson flooding

11:07 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Footage released by Ukraine’s army appears to show drones delivering water bottles to people stranded by floodwaters in Russian-controlled areas of Kherson.

Water from the destroyed Kakhovka dam has gushed into nearby villages over the past 48 hours, and towns in the region with a 42,000-strong population are facing a humanitarian disaster.

In a video shared on social media, a resident can be seen reaching out the skylight of their house as a drone carrying a water bottle is lowered and dropped down.

Watch: Ukrainian drones drop water bottles to citizens stranded in Kherson flooding

Mines dislodged by Kakhovka dam attack could pose danger ‘for decades’

10:38 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Mines uprooted and dispersed by floodwaters surging downstream from the breached Kakhovka dam across swathes of southern Ukraine could pose a grave danger to civilians for decades to come, the Red Cross said.

The vast Soviet-era Kakhovka dam, under Russian control, was breached in the early hours of Tuesday, unleashing floodwaters across a swathe of the warzone and endangering the lives and welfare of tens of thousands of people.

Ukraine blamed Russia for blowing it up. Russia said Ukraine sabotaged the dam at the behest of the West to constrict water supplies to Crimea and to distract from a faltering offensive. Some Russian-backed officials said the dam may have collapsed.

The waters have also washed over countless land mines sown during the 15-month war and nobody now knows where they are: they could still be in the minefields or could be stuck in the river mud or in fields, gardens and roads across a vast area.

“In the past we knew where the hazards were. Now we don’t know. All we know is that they are somewhere downstream,” said Erik Tollefsen, head of the Weapon Contamination Unit at the International Committee of the Red Cross.

“It is with a certain horror that we look at the news coming out,” said Tollefsen in an audio clip, adding that World War Two mines found underwater in Denmark in 2015 were still active.

The war in Ukraine, the largest in Europe since World War Two, has left a vast amount of mines and unexploded ordnances across swathes of the country - a risk campaigners have been warning about since Russia sent in troops in February last year.

Three killed in Russian attack in eastern Ukraine - governor

09:57 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Overnight Russian shelling killed three people, including a four-year-old boy, in the town of Ukrainsk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, the regional governor said on Thursday.

Five people, including three children, were also wounded in the same attack, and two were wounded in atatcks elsewhere in the region, governor Pavlo Kirilenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

Reuters was unable to verify the report.

Watch: Ukrainian drones drop water to people stranded in Kherson flooding

09:39 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Satellite images reveal scale of destruction after Nova Kakhovka dam attack

09:25 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

Satellite images have revealed the damage from the massive collapse of a major dam and hydroelectric power plant in southern Ukraine.

The critical soviet-era Nova Kakhovka dam, which lies along the Dnipro river in Russia-held Kherson, was blown up on Tuesday and collapsed soon after, sending water gushing into nearby villages and towns in the region with a 42,000-strong population.

The UN said the collapse will have “catastrophic” and “far-reaching consequences” for thousands of people with the loss of homes, food, safe water and livelihoods even as Russia and Ukraine traded accusations over the incident.

The latest satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies to The Independent on Tuesday showed the “largely destroyed” Nova Kakhovka dam and the hydroelectric plant as well as wide swathes of heavily flooded towns and villages.

Satellite images reveal scale of destruction after Nova Kakhovka dam attack

Mapped: The damage caused by Ukraine’s devastated dam

09:06 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

War-torn Ukraine is reeling from the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, which saw its reservoir burst causing chaos for miles around.

The catastrophe on Tuesday forced thousands of residents of nearby towns and villages to evacuate their homes as the floodwater barrelled towards them and left some climbing onto rooftops or into trees to escape the raging torrents.

Hundreds of thousands more have been left without access to clean drinking water in the region as a result of the eco-disaster on the Dnipro River, prompting relief workers to rush fresh supplies to the area as they struggle with the problems of mass resettlement.

Mapped: The damage caused by Ukraine’s devastated dam

About 600 sq km of Ukraine's Kherson region under water after dam destroyed - governor

08:47 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

About 600 square kilometres, or 230 square miles, of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine was under water on Thursday following the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, the regional governor said.

Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said 68% of the flooded territory was on the Russian-occupied left bank of the Dnipro River. The “average level of flooding” in the Kherson region on Thursday morning was 5.61 metres (18.41 ft), he said.

“We’re already working. We will help everyone that has ended up in trouble,” he said in a video statement of the flooding caused by the collapse of the dam, which is about 60 km upstream from Kherson.

Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and Ukraine blame each other for the destruction of the Russian-occupied dam on Tuesday.

“Despite the immense danger and constant Russian shelling, evacuation from zones of flooding is continuing,” Prokudin said.

He said almost 2,000 people had left flooded territory as of Thursday morning.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address late on Wednesday that it was impossible to predict how many people would die in Russian-occupied areas due to the flooding.

Ukraine’s fields could become deserts and spark global food crisis in wake of dam destruction, officials warn

08:20 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam will likely turn Ukraine’s southern fields “into deserts” within the year – sparking a global food security crisis, top Ukrainian officials have warned.

Ukraine’s emergency services are carrying out rescue operations across dozens of towns and villages in the wake of the dam – which is under Russian occupation – unleashing the waters of one of Europe’s largest reservoirs across the war-torn south. The deluge has destroyed homes, drowned animals, severed clean water supplies and forced thousands of people to evacuate.

The sudden emptying of the reservoir has crippled key irrigation systems in three surrounding regions. That has stopped the water supply to nearly 600,000 hectares of agricultural land, and endangered the production of 4 million tonnes of grain and oil crops, Ukraine’s agricultural ministry wrote in a statement.

Our chief international correspondent Bel Trew reports:

Dam destruction may turn Ukraine’s fields ‘into deserts’ and ‘spark food crisis’

South Africa's Ramaphosa discusses African peace mission with Putin

07:53 , Maryam Zakir-Hussain

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.

Dam attack will have ‘same long-term effect’ as Chernobyl, warns NGO

07:11 , Arpan Rai

Environmental experts have warned that the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse will have long-term effects akin to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Ukraine says Russia blew up the dam, most likely as an attempt to slow down Kyiv’s military counteroffensive. Russia has denied responsibility.

Maksym Soroka, an environmental safety expert at the Dovkola Network NGO, told FT.com that she compares the massive attack with “the Chernobyl disaster”.

“Yes, the consequences are different, but the long-term effect on the population and the territory is the same,” she said.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said it was impossible to predict how many people would die in Russian-occupied areas due to the flooding, urging a “clear and rapid reaction from the world” to support victims.

Three killed in flooding in Kherson after dam collapse

06:53 , Arpan Rai

At least three people have died in floods in southern Ukraine’s Kherson, local media reports have said in the first such confirmation of casualties from the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam.

Three people drowned in the Kherson region, said Yevhen Ryshchuk, the exiled mayor of Russia-occupied Oleshky, reported The Kyiv Independent.

More than 80 settlements had been affected by the disaster, deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said after his visit to the downstream regions. He added that the flooding had released chemicals and infectious bacteria into the water.

Ukraine holds initiative along multiple sectors of war frontline, says UK MoD

06:35 , Arpan Rai

Heavy fighting continues along multiple sectors of the frontline in Ukraine and in most areas, the Ukrainian forces hold the initiative amid a highly complex operational picture, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said today.

“Russian forces are likely still being ordered to return to the offensive as soon as possible: Chechen units have led an unsuccessful attempt to take the town of Marivka, near Donetsk city, where the front line has changed little since 2015,” the ministry said in its latest intelligence update.

It added that through yesterday, flood levels continued to rise in the lower Dnipro, following the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam.

However, the water level will likely start to recede today.

Shelling has complicated some attempts to evacuate displaced civilians from inundated areas, the ministry said.

World Bank to assess damage in Ukraine dam destruction

06:28 , Arpan Rai

The World Bank will conduct a rapid assessment of damage and needs to help Ukraine after Tuesday’s destruction of a huge hydroelectric dam on the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces, a top bank official said.

The destruction of the Novo Kakhovka dam had “many very serious consequences for essential service delivery and the broader environment”, said Anna Bjerde, the World Bank’s managing director for operations.

Ms 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 $411bn (£329bn) to rebuild Ukraine‘s economy after Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian prime minister Denys Shmyhal said he spoke with Ms Bjerde about the impact of the dam’s collapse.

Officials at the International Monetary Fund also said the agency is “very concerned” about the social, economic and environmental impact from the destruction of the dam.

Dam collapse situation ‘absolutely catastrophic’, says Zelensky

06:11 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has said the situation in the Russia-occupied part of Kherson region after the collapse of Nova Kakhovka dam is “absolutely catastrophic”.

“The occupiers simply abandoned people in these terrible conditions. Without rescue, without water, just on the rooftops in flooded communities. And this is another deliberate crime of Russia: after the terrorist state has caused a disaster, it also maximises the damage from it,” he said today.

Warning that many people in the affected parts “may die without rescue, drinking water, food and medical care”, Mr Zelensky said the Ukrainian military and special services are “rescuing people as much as it is possible, despite the shelling”.

“We need international organisations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, to immediately join the rescue operation and help people in the occupied part of Kherson region. Each person who dies there is a verdict on the existing international architecture and international organisations that have forgotten how to save lives,” said Mr Zelensky, calling on the international humanitarian organisations to help.

Dam attack may make Ukraine’s fields ‘deserts’ and ‘spark food crisis’

05:18 , Arpan Rai

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam will likely turn Ukraine’s southern fields “into deserts” within the year – sparking a global food security crisis, top Ukrainian officials have warned.

Ukraine’s emergency services are carrying out rescue operations across dozens of towns and villages in the wake of the dam – which is under Russian occupation – unleashing the waters of one of Europe’s largest reservoirs across the war-torn south.

The deluge has destroyed homes, drowned animals, severed clean water supplies and forced thousands of people to evacuate.

Read the full story here:

Dam destruction may turn Ukraine’s fields ‘into deserts’ and ‘spark food crisis’

Ukrainians abandon homes as infected water sweeps through region

04:45 , Arpan Rai

Hundreds of Ukrainians abandoned their inundated residences as infected flood water spread across southern Ukraine in the aftermath of the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse.

The destruction of a huge hydroelectric dam on the frontlines between Russian and Ukrainian forces has left residents slogging through flooded streets carrying children on their shoulders, dogs in their arms and belongings in plastic bags.

Rescuers also used rubber boats to search areas where the waters reached above head height.

Officials said hundreds of thousands of people remain without access to drinking water after tens of thousands of hectares of agricultural land was swamped and at least 500,000 hectares deprived of irrigation turned into “deserts”.

Residents on the Ukrainian-controlled side of the flood zone in the south blamed the bursting of the dam on Russian troops who held it on the eastern bank of the Dnipro.

“They hate us,” riverside villager Oleksandr Reva said.

“They want to destroy a Ukrainian nation and Ukraine itself. And they don’t care by what means because nothing is sacred for them,” he said.

Nato countries ‘could send troops to Ukraine’, former alliance chief warns

04:16 , Arpan Rai

A number of Nato nations could send troops to Ukraine if the besieged country is not given security guarantees at a forthcoming summit, a former secretary-general has warned.

Former Nato chief Anders Rasmussen said that even if such guarantees were not agreed, members of the alliance would not allow the issue of Ukraine’s future Nato membership to be kept off the agenda at the Vilnius summit in July.

The comments come after Nato secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg said Nato would only provide full-fledged security guarantees to full members. Kyiv has long called for Ukraine to be admitted to Nato, but member states have resisted calls out of fears of the possibility of a war with Russia.

Read the full story here:

Nato countries ‘could send troops to Ukraine’ former alliance chief warns

Fresh satellite images show areas around Ukraine dam completely submerged

04:09 , Arpan Rai

Fresh high-resolution satellite imagery has shown continuing widespread destruction in southern Ukraine after the Nova Kakhovka dam burst open. Villages and towns downstream from the dam are in the grip of heavy flooding, the aerial images show.

Hundreds of homes, buildings and infrastructure along the Dnipro river remain submerged by the floodwaters in the images taken yesterday evening.

ICYMI: Destruction of Ukraine dam a ‘new low’ if Russian forces responsible, Sunak says

03:00 , Martha Mchardy

Rishi Sunak said the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine would mark a “new low” in the conflict if Russian forces were found to be responsible.

The prime minister said the immediate priority was the humanitarian response to the catastrophe, which has flooded villages, endangered vital crops and threatened drinking water supplies.

Mr Sunak, speaking to reporters as he travelled to Washington for talks with US president Joe Biden, said if it was an intentional act to blow up the dam it would be “the largest attack on civilian infrastructure” since the start of Vladimir Putin’s war.

David Hughes reports:

Destruction of Ukraine dam a ‘new low’ if Russian forces are responsible, Sunak says

Ukraine wary of floating mines, disease spreading after Kakhovka dam collapse

02:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine warned of the danger of floating mines unearthed by flooding and the spread of disease and hazardous chemicals on Wednesday as senior officials inspected damage caused by the collapse of the vast Kakhovka hydro-electric dam.

Visiting the city of Kherson on the Dnipro river that bisects the country, deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said that over 80 settlements had been affected in a disaster which Ukraine and Russia blame on each other.

Blaming the dam’s collapse on Russia, Kubrakov said: “They did it in order to free up troops in this direction by flooding this bit of the front line.”

Russia, whose troops seized the dam soon after they invaded in February last year, has said Ukraine sabotaged the dam to distract attention from a counteroffensive it said was “faltering”.

“I can’t even speak now, I can’t collect myself,” said Lyubov Buryi, 67, who was evacuated from Kherson to a hospital on Tuesday with her 40-year-old son Roman.

“I’m of course awfully angry at (the Russians), I can’t even describe it ... I don’t know what awaits us, our house seems to be destroyed,” she said.

Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the water had reached a depth of 5.34 metres (17.5 ft) in some places of Kherson, though he said the rise had slowed and could peak by the end of Wednesday.

In Kherson, a large city about 60 km (37 miles) downstream from the destroyed dam, residents have set up makeshift embarkation points for dinghies that police, rescue workers and volunteers are now using to get around.

Kherson faces the Russian-controlled eastern bank of the Dnipro, and some residents have come under fire from Russian artillery as they go about their rescue and recovery work. The thud of artillery is heard almost constantly in the distance.

“Water is disturbing mines that were laid earlier, causing them to explode,” Kubrakov, dressed casually in a grey T-shirt, told reporters. As a result of the flooding, chemicals and infectious bacteria were getting into the water, he said.

He said Ukraine had allocated 120 million hryvnias ($3.25 million) allocated to secure the water supply in Mykolaiv, another southern city, and 1.5 billion hryvnias had been set aside to rebuild water mains systems ruined by the flood.

Watch: Ukrainians traverse flooded Kherson on dinghies after attack on dam

01:00 , Martha Mchardy

In pictures: Destruction after Nova Kakhovka dam collapses

Thursday 8 June 2023 00:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine’s long-term future to be on agenda at Sunak and Biden meeting

Wednesday 7 June 2023 23:00 , Martha Mchardy

Rishi Sunak has said that he and US President Joe Biden would be discussing the long-term security of Ukraine when the pair meet in Washington.

The Prime Minister, who is due to visit the White House on Thursday, said there was still no “definitive answer” about whether Russia was responsible for destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine but suggested it would fit a “pattern of behaviour” by Vladimir Putin’s forces.

More than 2,700 people are believed to have fled flooded areas on both the Russian and Ukrainian-controlled sides of the river.

Read the full story:

Ukraine’s long-term future to be on agenda at Sunak and Biden meeting

Watch: Dog rescued from flooding in Kherson after destroyed dam floods region

Wednesday 7 June 2023 22:00 , Martha Mchardy

Kim Sengupta: Ukraine on manoeuvres in its counterpunch against Russia: ‘This is our big shot we can’t screw it up’

Wednesday 7 June 2023 21:30 , Martha Mchardy

The blowing up of the dam near Kherson will delay an amoured assault in the area, writes Kim Sengupta. But Kyiv’s forces are conducting operations across other areas of the frontline.

Ukraine on manoeuvres in its counterpunch against Russia: ‘This is our big shot’

Massive destruction after Ukraine dam collapse revealed in new satellite images

Wednesday 7 June 2023 21:00 , Martha Mchardy

Satellite images have revealed the damage from the massive collapse of a major dam and hydroelectric power plant in southern Ukraine.

The critical soviet-era Nova Kakhovka dam, which lies along the Dnipro river in Russia-held Kherson, was blown up on Tuesday and collapsed soon after, sending water gushing into nearby villages and towns in the region with a 42,000-strong population.

The UN said the collapse will have “catastrophic” and “far-reaching consequences” for thousands of people with the loss of homes, food, safe water and livelihoods even as Russia and Ukraine traded accusations over the incident.

Shweta Sharma has the full story:

Massive destruction after Ukraine dam collapse revealed in new satellite images

From Stalin to Putin, dam-busting has been a barbaric and brutally effective tactic for warmongers for decades

Wednesday 7 June 2023 20:00 , Martha Mchardy

The parallels between the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam on Tuesday and history’s most famous dambusting attacks are striking and shocking, writes historian Guy Walters.

Blowing up dams has been a brutal war tactic since Stalin

Voices: A dam bursts, but this barbaric attack will not halt Kyiv’s ‘big push’

Wednesday 7 June 2023 19:00 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainians hope events on the battlefield might precipitate the change in Russia that removes Putin. Askold Krshelnycky meets the troops preparing to move out, and hears what they have planned.

This barbaric dam attack will not halt Kyiv’s ‘big push’ | Askold Krushelnycky

Ukraine PM urges UN and Red Cross to help flooded residents in Russian-controlled areas

Wednesday 7 June 2023 18:12 , Martha Mchardy

Ukraine’s prime minister on Wednesday urged the United Nations, the International Red Cross and other bodies to act immediately to help flooded residents of southern Ukraine receiving no help in areas controlled by Russian occupying forces.

“The Russian occupiers don’t even make an effort to help these people, they have left them to perish,” Denys Shmyhal said in English in a video posted on Telegram, referring to the aftermath of the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam.

“International humanitarian organisations, on behalf of the government of Ukraine, I urge you: you must act immediately.

“We appeal to you to take charge of evacuating people from the territory of Kherson oblast occupied by Russia, we must save the lives of people whom the occupiers have condemned to death.”

It comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he was “shocked” at what he said was the failure of the United Nations and the Red Cross to provide help after the destruction of the massive Kakhovka dam.

Russian-backed official claims report of 300 zoo animals being killed in Ukraine dam flood are false

Wednesday 7 June 2023 18:00 , Martha Mchardy

The Russian-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka, a southern Ukrainian town controlled by Moscow, said on Wednesday that claims by a local private zoo that all of its 300 animals had drowned after the nearby dam crumbled were false.

A representative for the zoo, called Kazkova Dibrova, said via the zoo’s Facebook account on Tuesday that the park had been completely flooded and that all of its animals had been killed after the nearby Nova Kakhovka dam collapsed.

Vladimir Leontyev, the Russian-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka, said on Wednesday that the assertion was untrue and that the zoo’s animals had been evacuated in 2022.

“Actually, the situation is that last year all the animals were evacuated and moved away from Kazkova Dibrova,” he said.

“There was nobody left there, not a single animal.”

The claims have not been independently verified.

The zoo itself gave a different account of events on Wednesday, saying that some initial information about what was going on had not been completely accurate and that some animals had not been at the zoo when it was flooded.

“Yesterday, the workers, being in a state of shock, gave me not quite accurate information. Some of the animals were not on the territory of the (zoo), but were at home with Val,” a zoo representative said, referring to the zoo’s director.

Zelensky ‘shocked’ at failure of UN and Red Cross to help after dam breached - Bild

Wednesday 7 June 2023 17:50 , Martha Mchardy

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday he was “shocked” at what he said was the failure of the United Nations and the Red Cross to provide help after the destruction of the massive Kakhovka dam.

Although the catastrophe happened many hours ago, “they aren’t here”, Zelensky told German newspapers Bild and Die Welt and also Politico. “We have had no response. I am shocked”.

He also said Russian soldiers were shooting from a distance while rescue attempts were in progress. “As soon as our helpers try to save them, they are shot at,” he was quoted as saying.

Putin accuses Ukraine of destroying the Kakhovka Dam at behest of West

Wednesday 7 June 2023 17:42 , Martha Mchardy

Russian president Vladimir Putin on Wednesday accused Ukraine of destroying the Kakhovka dam at the suggestion of the West, in what he called a “barbaric” war crime that escalated the conflict with Moscow.

The vast Soviet-era Kakhovka dam, under Russian control, was breached in the early hours of Tuesday, unleashing floodwaters across a swathe of the battleground in southern Ukraine.

Ukraine blamed Russia for blowing it up. Russia said Ukraine sabotaged the dam to constrict water supplies to Crimea and to distract from a faltering offensive. Some Russian-backed officials in the area said the dam may have collapsed.

“Vladimir Putin stated that the Kyiv authorities, at the suggestion of their Western curators, are still making a dangerous bet on the escalation of hostilities, committing war crimes, openly using terrorist methods, and organising sabotage on Russian territory,” the Kremlin quoted Putin as saying.

“A clear example of this is the barbaric action to destroy the Kakhovskaya hydro-electric power plant in the Kherson region which led to a large-scale environmental and humanitarian catastrophe,” Putin was quoted as saying.

The Kremlin said the remarks were made during a phone call with Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan. It made no reference to any evidence to back Putin’s allegation.

With the dam collapsed, some of the 18-cubic-kilometres (4.3 cubic miles) of water held in the reservoir is now flooding a swathe of southern Ukraine, including areas controlled by Russian forces.

Putin ordered emergency situations minister Alexander Kurenkov to head rescue efforts in the area, the RIA news agency quoted Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Moscow-backed official says Russian army gains advantage from Ukraine dam breach

Wednesday 7 June 2023 17:30 , Martha Mchardy

A top Moscow-backed official in part of Ukraine controlled by Russia has said that the collapse of the giant Nova Kakhovka Dam had handed the Russian military a tactical advantage.

Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the dam’s destruction, which has sent floodwaters across a war zone and forced thousands to flee. Some experts say the dam may have collapsed due to earlier damage and intense pressure on it.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of part of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region controlled by Moscow, said he believed Kyiv was to blame for the disaster, but that the tragedy had handed an advantage to the Russian military.

“In military terms, the situation has worked out in a way that is operationally and tactically in favour of Russian forces,” Saldo told pro-Kremlin TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov.

He said the dam’s destruction and resulting floodwaters would make it easier for Russia to defend against any Ukrainian counter-offensive in the area.

“They (the Ukrainians) have hurt themselves by doing this. Their calculation was that by blowing up the dam they would give some strategic or operational advantage to the Ukrainian armed forces. But they will not be able to do anything,” he said.

“Our armed forces now have an open space in front of them across which they can see who is trying to cross the Dnipro River and how. And it will be impossible for them to get through via the Kakhovka reservoir if they try.”

Moscow controls the left (east) bank of the Dnipro while Ukrainian forces are deployed on its right (west) bank.

Britain cannot yet say Russia responsible for dam destruction - PM Sunak

Wednesday 7 June 2023 17:11 , Martha Mchardy

Britain cannot yet say Russia is responsible for the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam on the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces, prime minister Rishi Sunak said on Wednesday during a visit to the United States.

Asked whether Russia was responsible, Sunak told ITV: “I can’t say that definitively yet. You know, our security and military services are working through it.”

“But if true, if it does prove to be intentional, it will represent a new low. It’s an appalling act of barbarism on Russia’s part,” he added.

Russia says radiation levels at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant remain normal - RIA

Wednesday 7 June 2023 16:57 , Martha Mchardy

Radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeast Ukraine are normal, the RIA reported, citing a Russian state agency.

“Radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are monitored on a daily basis,” the RIA said, citing Russia’s Federal Medical-Biological Agency.

NATO needs to discuss security assurances for Kyiv - Stoltenberg

Wednesday 7 June 2023 16:51 , Martha Mchardy

NATO must discuss options for giving Ukraine security assurances for the time after its war with Russia, the alliance’s chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday.

When the war ends, NATO will need arrangements in place to ensure that Russia does not simply relocates its forces for another attack, he told reporters at an event in Brussels.

At the same time, Stoltenberg made it clear that NATO - under Article 5 of the Washington Treaty - will provide full-fledged security guarantees to full members only.

Tucker Carlson calls Ukraine’s Jewish leader ‘rat-like’ as he launches new Twitter show with pro-Kremlin rant

Wednesday 7 June 2023 16:00 , Matt Mathers

Tucker Carlson described Ukraine’s Jewish leader as “rat-like”, questioned the official story about 9/11, and claimed definitively that aliens are visiting Earth as he launched his new TV show on Twitter.

The far-right former Fox News anchor opened the next act of his career with a pro-Kremlin rant claiming that it was “obvious” Ukrainian forces were responsible for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam on Tuesday.

He referred to Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as “sweaty and rat-like”, “a persecutor of Christians”, and in bed with American investment bankers.

Io Dodds has more:

Tucker Carlson calls Ukraine’s Jewish leader ‘rat-like’ in new Twitter show

ICYMI: NATO allies prepare unprecedented air deployment exercise over Europe in show of force to Russia

Wednesday 7 June 2023 15:40 , Matt Mathers

Germany is preparing to host the biggest air deployment exercise in NATO’s history, a show of force intended to impress allies and potential adversaries such as Russia, German and American officials said Wednesday.

The Air Defender 23 exercise starting next week will see 10,000 participants and 250 aircraft from 25 nations respond to a simulated attack on a NATO member country. The United States alone is sending 2,000 U.S. Air National Guard personnel and about 100 aircraft to take part in the training maneuvers.

Full report:

NATO allies prepare unprecedented air deployment exercise over Europe in show of force to Russia

ICYMI: Ukraine has not yet launched counteroffensive - senior security official

Wednesday 7 June 2023 15:20 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine has not yet launched a planned counteroffensive to win back territory occupied by Russia, and its start will be obvious to everyone when it happens, a senior security official said on Wednesday.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, dismissed statements by Russian officials who have said the counteroffensive has already begun.

"All of this is not true. When all this will begin, it will be decided by our military," Danilov told Reuters in an interview. "When we start the counteroffensive, everyone will know about it, they will see it."

Japan supports Sweden’s NATO membership as defense ministers strengthen ties

Wednesday 7 June 2023 14:58 , Matt Mathers

Japan‘s defense minister expressed his country’s support for Sweden‘s NATO membership during talks Wednesday with his Swedish counterpart, as the two sides called for stronger military ties amid shared concern over threats from Russia and China.

Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said that Sweden sees the need for European countries to reach out to Asian partners because of the impact of Russia’s war against Ukraine.

Japan is especially concerned about increasing military cooperation between China and Russia and their joint exercises around Japan.

Raf Wober reports:

Japan supports Sweden's NATO membership as defense ministers strengthen ties

Aid workers rush water supplies to flooded areas

Wednesday 7 June 2023 14:40 , Matt Mathers

Authorities on Wednesday rushed supplies of drinking water to flooded areas from a collapsed dam in southern Ukraine as officials weighed where they might resettle residents who relied on the breached reservoir on the Dnieper River that forms part of the front line in the 15-month war.

More than 2,700 people have fled flooded areas on both the Russian and Ukrainian-controlled sides of the river, according to official tallies, but it was not clear whether the true scale of the disaster had yet emerged in an area that was home to more than 60,000 people.

The Kakhovka hydroelectric dam and reservoir, essential for supplying drinking water and irrigation to a huge area of southern Ukraine, lies in a part of the Kherson region occupied by Moscow’s forces for the past year. It is also critical for water supplies to the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.

Turkey’s Erdogan tells Putin: full inquiry into dam collapse needed

Wednesday 7 June 2023 14:24 , Matt Mathers

Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Wednesday that a comprehensive investigation was needed into the destruction of a vast dam on the frontline between Russian and Ukrainian forces.

Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the destruction of the dam, which has sent floodwaters across a war zone and forced thousands to flee.

Erdogan told Putin that an international commission that includes the UN and Turkey could be formed to look into the issue, a statement from Erdogan’s office said. Erdogan earlier talked to Ukraine’s president Zelenskiy on the same issue.

ICYMI: Cleverly meets Zelensky in Kyiv ahead of recovery conference

Wednesday 7 June 2023 14:00 , Matt Mathers

Foreign secretary James Cleverly met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv this week ahead of the Ukraine recovery conference.

The meeting in the war-torn nation’s capital came amid signs the expected Ukrainian counter-offensive against the Russian invasion may have started.

In a video posted to Mr Zelensky’s Facebook page, Mr Cleverly is heard saying that the UK “will continue backing you and your country until you are victorious”.

Sophie Wingate reports:

James Cleverly meets Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv

Sunak: Ukraine aid will be diverted to Kakhovka dam area

Wednesday 7 June 2023 13:45 , Matt Mathers

Downing Street has said humanitarian aid to Ukraine will be diverted to the area affected by destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

The PM’s official spokesman said: "We’ve already provided a lot of humanitarian aid to Ukraine, working closely with the UN and the Red Cross.

"My understanding is that some of that aid will be diverted to that area to assist those who are having to leave their homes.

"Of course we will continue to look at what humanitarian support Ukraine needs and provide it if we can."

Warning over exploding mines floating in floodwater

Wednesday 7 June 2023 13:43 , Matt Mathers

A senior Ukrainian official warned of the danger posed by floating mines unearthed by flooding and the spread of disease and hazardous chemicals on Wednesday as he inspected damage caused by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam.

Visiting the city of Kherson on the Dnipro river, Deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said over 80 settlements had been affected in a disaster which Ukraine and Russia blame on each other.

"All of this is not true. When all this will begin, it will be decided by our military," Danilov told Reuters in an interview. "When we start the counteroffensive, everyone will know about it, they will see it."

Danilov said Russian officials had mistaken local Ukrainian advances in some frontline area for the start of the larger operation.

Ukraine has not yet launched counteroffensive - senior security official

Wednesday 7 June 2023 13:29 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine has not yet launched a planned counteroffensive to win back territory occupied by Russia, and its start will be obvious to everyone when it happens, a senior security official said on Wednesday.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, dismissed statements by Russian officials who have said the counteroffensive has already begun.

"All of this is not true. When all this will begin, it will be decided by our military," Danilov told Reuters in an interview. "When we start the counteroffensive, everyone will know about it, they will see it."

Danilov said Russian officials had mistaken local Ukrainian advances in some frontline area for the start of the larger operation.

ICYMI: Thousands face evacuation after destruction of huge Ukraine dam blamed on Russian forces

Wednesday 7 June 2023 13:10 , Matt Mathers

Thousands of people are being evacuated after a major dam was blown up in southern Ukraine – an act of destruction Kyiv blamed on Russia’s desperation to slow a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The Nova Kakhovka dam – which Moscow’s forces have control of – sits on the Dnipro River, with Ukrainian and Russian troops controlling opposite banks.

Chris Stevenson report:

Thousands face evacuation after destruction of huge Ukraine dam blamed on Russia

A dam bursts, but this barbaric attack will not halt Kyiv’s ‘big push’

Wednesday 7 June 2023 12:40 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainians hope events on the battlefield might precipitate the change in Russia that removes Putin.

Askold Krshelnycky meets the troops preparing to move out, and hears what they have planned.

Read the full story here:

This barbaric dam attack will not halt Kyiv’s ‘big push’ | Askold Krushelnycky

Ukraine warns of ‘floating mines’ in floodwater

Wednesday 7 June 2023 12:20 , Matt Mathers

A senior Ukrainian official warned of the danger posed by floating mines unearthed by flooding and the spread of disease and hazardous chemicals on Wednesday as he inspected damage caused by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam.

Visiting the city of Kherson on the Dnipro river, deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said over 80 settlements had been affected in a disaster which Ukraine and Russia blame on each other.

Although it denies blowing up the dam, Moscow has engaged in a campaign of air strikes against Ukraine’s energy system in which Kyiv says infrastructure of other dams has been damaged.

Blaming the dam’s collapse on Russia, Mr Kubrakov said: "They did it in order to free up troops in this direction by flooding this bit of the frontline."

The dam attack in Ukraine is a ruthless act of destruction – and shows just how desperate Putin is

Wednesday 7 June 2023 12:00 , Matt Mathers

Destroying the dam may make strategic sense to Moscow – to block Ukrainian troop movements – but it comes at an appalling cost, writes Kim Sengupta.

Read Kim’s full piece here:

The dam attack in Ukraine shows just how desperate Putin is | Kim Sengupta

ICYMI: Dog rescued from deep water in Kherson after destroyed dam floods region

Wednesday 7 June 2023 11:45 , Matt Mathers

Ukrainian National Police shared a video of a dog being rescued in a flooded area of the Kherson region on Tuesday 6 June.

Large areas were flooded after a major dam in southern Ukraine was destroyed, triggering floods, endangering crops in the country’s breadbasket and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war scrambled to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the destruction.

Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper river in an area that Moscow has controlled for over a year, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian bombardment in the contested area.

Oliver Browning reports:

Dog rescued from flooding in Kherson after destroyed dam floods region

Massive destruction after Ukraine dam collapse revealed in new satellite images

Wednesday 7 June 2023 11:30 , Matt Mathers

Satellite images have revealed the damage from the massive collapse of a major dam and hydroelectric power plant in southern Ukraine.

The critical soviet-era Nova Kakhovka dam, which lies along the Dnipro river in Russia-held Kherson, was blown up on Tuesday and collapsed soon after, sending water gushing into nearby villages and towns in the region with a 42,000-strong population.

Shweta Sharma reports:

Massive destruction after Ukraine dam collapse revealed in new satellite images

NATO allies prepare unprecedented air deployment exercise over Europe in show of force to Russia

Wednesday 7 June 2023 11:15 , Matt Mathers

Germany is preparing to host the biggest air deployment exercise in NATO’s history, a show of force intended to impress allies and potential adversaries such as Russia, German and American officials said Wednesday.

The Air Defender 23 exercise starting next week will see 10,000 participants and 250 aircraft from 25 nations respond to a simulated attack on a NATO member country.

The United States alone is sending 2,000 U.S. Air National Guard personnel and about 100 aircraft to take part in the training maneuvers.

NATO allies prepare unprecedented air deployment exercise over Europe in show of force to Russia

Ukraine says it advances as much as a 1km in places near Bakhmut

Wednesday 7 June 2023 11:00 , Matt Mathers

Ukraine advanced from 200 to 1,100 metres on parts of the front around the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut in the last 24 hours, Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said.

"Our troops have switched from being on the defensive to being on the offensive in the direction of Bakhmut," she said on the Telegram messenger.

The claim has not been immediately independently verified.