Kyiv accuses Russia of blowing up critical dam

The Ukrainian government accused Russia of blowing up the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River, as the evacuation began of people living downstream in the face of potentially catastrophic flooding.

- Julian Borger and Dan Sabbagh KYIV

Aerial footage on social media on Tuesday showed most of the dam wall washed away and a massive surge of water heading downstream. The governor of Kherson, Oleksandr Prokudin, said that about 16,000 people were in the "critical zone" on the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the river.

The disaster happened on the second day of Ukrainian operations likely to mark the early stages of a mass counteroffensive. It could affect any Ukrainian plans for an assault across the river.