Photo: Arab News-
Metropolis Desk-
Ukrainian authorities have accused Russian forces of blowing up a sizable dam in a Russian-controlled region near the front lines of the conflict, endangering thousands of residents there as well as a neighboring nuclear power plant.
According to videos that NBC News and local authorities verified happened on Tuesday, water broke through the crucial Kakhovka dam, causing flooding throughout the southern Ukraine conflict area and prompting evacuations and warnings of an “ecological disaster.”
One hamlet right near the dam, according to its mayor, has already been entirely inundated as a result of the disaster, and its aftermath may have far-reaching effects on the battlefield and beyond.
The dam collapse comes after Kyiv’s forces seemed to initiate a new round of assaults along the front lines in the south and the east, stoking rumors that their long-awaited counteroffensive may have started.
While Russian officials blamed Ukraine while downplaying the severity of the situation, Kyiv officials said that Moscow had carried out a “terrorist attack” and alerted the world community. The Kherson area dam is located there, and NBC News has not independently confirmed the claims made by either side.
Both sides have claimed throughout the conflict that the other is deliberately attacking the dam, and Kyiv has expressed worry that Moscow may demolish it to unleash a deluge. Officials from Ukraine ordered residents on both banks of the Dnieper River to evacuate after stating that the water level would reach a critical level in a matter of hours. Around 1,300 people had reportedly been evacuated by 3 p.m. local time (8 a.m. ET), according to Ukraine’s state emergency service.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared a mass exodus from high-risk areas after estimating that some 80 communities faced inundation.
Source- NBC NEWS
