Ukraine dam: Thousands evacuated from ‘critical zone’ near Kakhovka plant

Thousands of people are being evacuated downstream of a major dam which has been blown up in Russian-held Ukraine.

President Zelensky said 80 towns and villages were at risk of flooding after the destruction of the dam at Nova Kakhova, 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.

Russia has denied destroying the dam - which it controls - instead blaming Ukrainian shelling.

Neither Ukraine's or Russia's claim has been verified by the BBC.

The Kakhovka dam is crucial in the region. It contains a reservoir, which provides water to farmers and residents, as well as to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It is also is a vital channel carrying water south to Russian-occupied Crimea.

Video footage shows a torrent of floodwater gushing through a breach in the dam. Several towns are already flooded, while people in areas further downstream are now fleeing by bus and train.

Some 16,000 people are in a "critical zone", according to the head of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Mr Prokudin said water levels in the Dnipro river will be "critical" within five hours and accused Russia of committing "yet another act of terror".

In a Telegram post, Mr Prokudin said the evacuation of residents living in the threatened areas on the Ukraine-controlled western bank of the Dnipro river were under way, and he appealed to residents on the opposite bank - currently under Russian control - to immediately leave their homes.

Mr Prokudin said residents were being taken by bus to Kherson, from where they will be moved to different cities across the country.

People in low-lying parts of the city of Kherson - around 50 miles downstream - have also been told to evacuate as quickly as possible.

There are concerns about the impact on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which uses water from a reservoir behind the dam for cooling.

The situation there is said to be under control and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said it was monitoring the situation closely.

The UN agency said it saw "no immediate nuclear safety risk" at Europe's biggest atomic plant.

As well as the more immediate evacuation concerns, there are also longer-term fears about the damage.

The dam holds back the waters of the Dnipro, forming a vast reservoir that provides water for a host of communities upstream.

It is also a vital part of the channel carrying water from the Dnipro to Russian-annexed Crimea.

After Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, Ukraine blocked a channel carrying water from Nova Kakhovka, triggering a water crisis on the peninsula.

Russian forces reopened the channel soon after last year's full-scale invasion. But without the dam, dropping water levels could once again jeopardise the flow of water.

It is not yet clear what caused the breach in the dam, but Ukraine's military intelligence has accused Russia of deliberately blowing it up early this morning.

This seems plausible, as Moscow may have feared that Ukrainian forces would use the road over the dam to advance into Russian-held territory, as part of their counter-offensive.

For Russia, anxious to defend conquered territory in southern Ukraine, the dam represented an obvious problem.

Just as Ukrainian forces attacked road and rail bridges further downstream last autumn in a successful effort to isolate Russian forces in and around Kherson, Russia may have decided to destroy the dam to hold up Ukraine's counter-offensive, which it fears could come from multiple directions.

However, a Russian official claims Ukraine carried out the attack on the dam to detract from what they said were the failures of its counter-offensive.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of the region, said the situation was not critical and that evacuations were not needed.

A major Ukrainian push has been long expected but Kyiv has already said it would not give advance warning of its start.

There has been a notable increase in military activity, with Ukraine claiming to have made marginal gains elsewhere on the front line.

The latest reports are being seen as a fresh sign that the expected Ukrainian push may have begun.

On Monday, Ukraine's deputy defence minister said around the "epicentre of hostilities" in Bakhmut, but did not say whether the counter-offensive had begun.

Bakhmut has for months been at the heart of fierce fighting. It has little strategic value - but is important symbolically both for Kyiv and Moscow.

In the aftermath of the attack on the dam, Mr Zelensky said he had called a meeting of the country's security and defence council.

Blaming "Russian terrorists" for the partial destruction of the dam, Mr Zelenksy said it "it's only Ukraine's victory that will return security".

Yuri Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's ministry of defence, told the BBC Radio 4's Today programme that phone intercepts have suggested Russia wants to target more dams.

"They're actually calling to blow up more dams on the Dnipro river," he said.

Ukraine's energy ministry has said the blast at the dam - which is a hydro-electric power plant - has not directly affected the country's energy system and there is currently no threat to energy stability.