Ukraine and Russia have traded barbs over the destruction of a major dam over the Dnieper River in a part of the Kherson region, which is under Moscow’s control.
The damage to the Nova Kakhovka dam has sent water gushing from the breached facility and threatening possible massive flooding and what officials called an “ecological disaster”.
While Ukraine blames Russia for the damage to the dam, officials aligned with the Kremlin countered that the Kakhovka facility was damaged by Kiev’s military strikes. Others suggest that it collapsed following earlier damage.
The Russian-backed mayor in the area labelled the strike a “terrorist act”, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was the action of "Russian terrorists".
Amid the conflicting claims and counter-claims, here’s a look at why the dam is so important for both sides.
The dam
The dam, 30 metres (98 feet) tall and 3.2 km (2 miles) long, was built in 1956 on the Dnipro River as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.
The reservoir also supplies water to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, and to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is also under Russian control.
The dam, estimated to hold around 18 cubic kilometres of water, is similar to the scale of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
Ukraine and Russia have previously accused each other of targeting the dam with attacks, and last October, Zelenskyy predicted that Russia would destroy the dam in order to cause a flood.
In February, the water levels plummeted, with many fearful of a potential meltdown at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant - with the cooling systems driven by water from the Kakhovka reservoir.
By mid-May, after heavy rains and snow melt, water levels rose beyond normal levels, flooding nearby villages. Satellite images showed water washing over damaged sluice gates.
Ukraine controls five of the six dams along the Dnipro River, which runs from its northern border with Belarus down to the Black Sea and is crucial for the entire country’s drinking water and power supply.
The Kakhovka dam — the one furthest downstream — is controlled by Russian forces.
The reservoir is a water source for the Crimean peninsula that Russia illegally annexed in 2014, while the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is also under Russian command.
Ukraine previously blocked water supplies to Crimea after Russia illegally annexed the peninsula in 2014, causing acute water shortages in the region.
The Russian-backed governor of Crimea said on Tuesday that there is a risk that water levels in the North Crimea Canal, which carries fresh water to the peninsula from the Dnipro River, could fall after the rupture of the dam.
The fall-out
The dam breach could have broad consequences: Flooding homes, streets and businesses downstream; depleting water levels upstream that help cool Europe’s largest nuclear power plant; and draining supplies of drinking water to the south in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed.
More than 20,000 people live in 14 areas in Kherson, located in Southern Ukraine and are at risk of flooding, according to the Russian-backed officials.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced some 80 settlements stand at risk of flood waters.
Reports say targeting the dam, under Russian control, would unleash largescale flood waters over vast swathes of the Kherson region.
With water levels surging higher, many thousands of people are likely to be affected.
An estimated 22,000 people living across 14 settlements in Ukraine's southern Kherson region are at risk of flooding, Russian backed officials said. They told people to be ready to evacuate.
Nuclearplant
The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest, gets its cooling water from the reservoir. It is located on the southern side, now under Russian control.
The United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency announced on Twitter it is monitoring the situation while there was "no immediate nuclear safety risk"
Russian state nuclear-energy company Rosatom also said there was no threat to the nuclear power plant.
