Kyiv on Tuesday said it is evacuating over 17,000 people from flooded areas following the partial destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine. Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the major hydroelectric dam, which represents a significant resource for the wider region by supplying water to a host of communities and Europe's largest nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia. Follow our live blog for the latest updates on the war in Ukraine. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
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9:24pm: EU ready to provide 'necessary assistance' and 'humanitarian aid' to Ukraine
The European Union has offered Ukraine assistance in dealing with the fallout of damage to a massive dam, which has sent a deluge of water through dozens of villages, Kyiv said Tuesday.
"The EU is ready to provide necessary assistance and humanitarian aid to mitigate the consequences of this Russia-made disaster," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter after a conversation with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
8:45pm: US-built F-16s could 'accommodate' nuclear weapons if sent to Ukraine, warns Russia
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that US-built F-16 fighter jets can "accommodate" nuclear weapons and warned that supplying Kyiv with them will escalate the conflict further.
"We must keep in mind that one of the modifications of the F-16 can 'accommodate' nuclear weapons," Lavrov said in a speech at a military base in Dushanbe in Tajikistan, according to a transcript on the ministry's website.
"If they do not understand this, then they are worthless as military strategists and planners."
White House spokesman John Kirby on Tuesday declined to discuss the nuclear capabilities of the F-16 fighters but noted that US President Joe Biden has been consistent that he does not want to see the war escalate, certainly not into the nuclear realm.
"The purpose of providing advanced fighter aircraft is to help Ukraine defend itself defend its airspace and its territorial integrity period," Kirby said
8:40pm: US cannot determine cause of dam breach, says White House
The White House on Tuesday said it could not say conclusively what caused the destruction of a massive dam in Ukraine, but was assessing reports that the blast was caused by Russia, which has been occupying the dam since last year.
Spokesman John Kirby said it was clear that the destruction of the dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine had likely caused "many deaths" and the evacuation of thousands of Ukrainians.
Kirby told reporters the damage could have a devastating impact on Ukraine's energy security.
"We've seen the reports that Russia was responsible for the explosion at the dam," he said. "We're doing the best we can to assess those reports, and we are working with the Ukrainians to gather more information, but we cannot say conclusively what happened."
7:38pm: Russian foreign ministry summons Belgium's ambassador over 'Belgian weapons' use
Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said it summoned Belgium's ambassador to protest what it said was the use of "Belgian weapons" by pro-Ukraine militants that attacked Russian territory last month.
FRANCE 24 was not able to independently verify Russia's claim.
Russia has complained before that Ukrainian sabotage groups have used Western weapons to wage attacks on its territory.
6:34pm: Ukraine evacuates over 17,000 people from flooded areas
Ukraine's prosecutor general on Tuesday said 17,000 people were being evacuated from flooded areas after the partial destruction of the Kakhovka dam.
"Over 40,000 people are in danger of being flooded. Ukrainian authorities are evacuating over 17,000 people," Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's Prosecutor General, said on social media, adding that 25,000 more people should be evacuated on the Russian-occupied side of the Dnipro River.
5:55pm: Which side – if any – stands to benefit?
While Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the dam breach, it is not immediately clear whether either side stands to benefit, since both Russian-controlled and Ukrainian-held lands are at risk.
Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu charged that Ukraine destroyed the dam to prevent potential Russian attacks in the Kherson region and divert attention from the pruported failure of its long-awaited counteroffensive.
Ukraine, meanwhile, alleges Russia blew up the dam to hinder its planned assault, even though observers note that crossing the broad Dnipro would have been extremely challenging even before the flooding.
Cold War historian Sergey Radchenko said Moscow had most to gain and was thus also the most plausible culprit for the dam's destruction, noting on Twitter that, "by causing floods downstream of Nova Kakhovka, the Russians would complicate Ukraine's efforts to cross, winning time, which would allow them to focus on other sections of the front."
Nigel Gould-Davies, a senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told AP the alleged Russian destruction of the dam “betrays a lack of confidence, a profoundly defensive measure, the lack of confidence in Russia’s longer-term prospects” in the war.
Experts have previously said the dam was in disrepair, which could also have led to the breach. David Helms, a retired American scientist who has monitored the reservoir since the war began, said it wasn’t clear if the damage was deliberate or simple neglect from Russian forces occupying the facility.
But Helms also noted a Russian history of attacking dams.
5:05pm: UN chief says dam breach 'a consequence' of Russian invasion
The United Nations does not have any independent information on how the Nova Kakhovka dam burst overnight, but "one thing is clear, this is another devastating consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine", UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.
Earlier, Russian media reported that the country's UN envoy would convene a session of the UN Security Council to discuss the matter.
4:25pm: Evacuations under way as water submerges towns and villages
Hundreds of people are being evacuated from settlements along the southern stretch of Ukraine's Dnipro river as water bursts through the breached Nova Kakhovka dam, submerging streets and town squares.
The collapse of the barrier has added to misery for thousands of people caught on the front lines of war between Ukraine and Russia.
Footage posted on social media shows severe flooding in the town of Nova Kakhovka, where the Russian-installed mayor said water levels had risen to over 11 metres and that some residents had been taken to hospital.
Ukrainian police released a video showing an officer carrying an old woman to safety and residents wading to safety through knee-deep water in Kherson region.
Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, a senior official at Ukraine's Kherson military administration, warned that worse was to come.
"Tomorrow there will be a peak (of flooding), then there will be a decline," he told an online media briefing. "We already evacuated about 1,000 people. We have about 50 buses shuttling between Kherson and the affected villages. In Kherson we have four evacuation sites prepared."
4:05pm: Dam destruction 'dire' for nature, Zelensky tells Vatican envoy
The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam will have "dire consequences" for people and nature, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told a Vatican peace envoy in Kyiv.
"This crime carries enormous threats and will have dire consequences for people's lives and the environment," he told Italian cardinal Matteo Zuppi as the two met in the Ukrainian capital, according to a presidency statement.
Both sides have warned of a looming environmental disaster as water gushes through the damaged dam, flooding areas on both banks of the Dnipro river.
Ukraine’s presidential office said some 150 metric tons of oil escaped from the dam machinery and that another 300 metric tons could still leak out.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential office, posted a video showing swans swimming near an administrative building in the flooded streets of Russian-occupied Nova Kakhovka, a city in the Kherson region where some 45,000 people lived before the war.
3:40pm: What's at stake after Nova Kakhovka dam breach?
Ukrainian and Russian officials on have accused each other of destroying the Nova Kakhovka dam, long earmarked as a potential target owing to its strategic importance and destructive potential.
The dam breach adds a complex new element to the ongoing war in Ukraine, now in its 16th month, just as Ukrainian forces appeared to be moving forward with a long-anticipated counteroffensive.
The fallout could have far-reaching consequences, flooding residential areas along the Dnipro, depleting water levels around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and draining supplies of fresh water in Russian-annexed Crimea.
It could also hold back Ukrainian forces as they seek to retake territory occupied by Russian forces east of the Dnipro.
>> Read more: Nova Kakhovka dam breach: What we know and what's at stake
3:25pm: Russian forces repelled Ukraine's offensives over past three days, says defence minister
Russian forces have repelled repeated Ukrainian offensives along the front line over the past three days, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Tuesday.
Shoigu said Ukraine tried to advance in seven directions on June 5 but was pushed back by Russian forces. FRANCE 24 could not independently verify the battlefield claims.
2:14pm: 'World must react' to the Kakhovka dam attack, says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said the "world must react" to the Kakhovka dam attack, blaming Russia for the breach which has caused extensive flooding.
"The world must react," he said on social media, adding that Russia had carried out "an internal explosion of the structures" of the plant at 2:50am local time (2350 GMT).
2:09pm: Water level in town of Nova Kakhovka rises to 11 metres, Russian-installed official says
The Russian-installed mayor of the Ukrainian town of Nova Kakhovka said Tuesday that the water level in the town, which is below the dam that was breached overnight, had risen to a nominal 11 metres, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.
1:57pm: Ukraine says Russia shelling Kherson region despite evacuation efforts
Ukraine's interior minister said Russia was shelling areas in the southern region of Kherson from where people were being evacuated on Tuesday after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, and that two police officers had been wounded.
"The Russian military continue to shell territory where evacuation measures are being carried out. An hour ago, two police officers were wounded in the area. Shelling continues at the moment," Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko told Ukrainian television.
He also warned about the increased danger posed by mines because of rising water levels.
1:35pm: Ukraine calls for UN Security Council meeting over dam blast
Kyiv has called for the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting following the partial destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam.
"Ukraine calls an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council and brings the issue of the Russian terrorist act to the International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a statement.
12:28pm: EU says dam blast escalates the 'barbaric nature' of Russia's war in Ukraine
The EU on Tuesday condemned the destruction of a major hydroelectric dam in the south of Ukraine as a new example of the "barbaric aggression" by Russia against Ukraine.
"This is a new sign of escalation, bringing the horrific and barbaric nature of Russian aggression against Ukraine to unprecedented levels," EU Commission spokesman Peter Stano said at a press conference in Brussels.
12:20pm: 150 tonnes of engine oil have spilled into the Dnipro River after dam blast, Ukraine says
Ukraine on Tuesday said 150 tonnes of engine oil had spilled into the Dnipro River after a blast at the Nova Kakhovka dam and warned of a "negative impact" for the environment.
"One hundred fifty tonnes of engine oil got into the Dnipro" after the explosion, Daria Zarivna, communications adviser to the head of the Ukrainian president's office, said on social media.
12:14pm: Kremlin says Ukraine sabotaged Nova Kakhovka dam to distract from faltering counteroffensive
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said that Ukraine sabotaged the Kakhovka dam to distract attention from its faltering counteroffensive, and rejected Kyiv's claim that Moscow had blown up the dam.
Peskov's statement echoes what the Russian-installed governor of Ukraine's Kherson region said earlier today.
12:07pm: City of Nova Kakhovka is 'flooded', Russian-installed official says
The Russian-occupied city of Nova Kakhovka in southern Ukraine – home to the dam that Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of targeting – is "flooded", officials told Russian media Tuesday.
"The city is flooded," Vladimir Leontyev, the Russian-installed head of the city administration, told Russian media.
11:55am: IAEA calls on Ukraine, Russia to spare Zaporizhzhia's cooling pond
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant should have enough water to cool its reactors for "some months" from a pond located above the Nova Kakhovka dam that has broken, said the UN atomic watchdog in a statement calling for the pond to be spared.
"It is therefore vital that this cooling pond remains intact. Nothing must be done to potentially undermine its integrity. I call on all sides to ensure nothing is done to undermine that," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement.
11:03am: Ukraine calls Russia 'terrorist state' at ICJ over dam blast
Ukraine branded Russia a "terrorist state" at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), accusing it of destroying the Nova Kakhovka dam in what it said was a campaign of violence dating back years.
"Russia cannot defeat us on the battlefield, so it targets civilian infrastructure to try to freeze us into submission. Just today Russia blew up a major dam," Anton Korynevych, ambassador-at-large for Ukraine's foreign ministry, said in his opening remarks at the ICJ in The Hague.
"It is causing significant civilian evacuations, ecological damages and is threatening the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russia's actions are the actions of a terrorist state, an aggressor."
10:25am: Kyiv struck dam to distract from counteroffensive 'failures': Russian-installed official
The Russian-installed governor of Ukraine's Kherson region has said Kyiv struck the Nova Kakhovka dam to distract attention from what he said were the failures of Ukrainian forces' counteroffensive in the country's east.
In a video posted on Telegram, Vladimir Saldo said that a major evacuation would not be necessary as a result of the dam breach.
Russia's TASS news agency citied emergency services as saying that Ukraine had struck the region with Storm Shadow missiles that had been supplied to Kyiv by Britain.
Ukraine and Russia have traded blame for the destruction of the dam.
10:22am: Ukraine faces off with Russia at top UN court
Ukraine and Russia face off at the UN's top court on Tuesday in a case that was originally filed by Ukraine in 2017.
Ukraine alleges that Russia breached UN conventions on financing terrorism and on racial discrimination, and is seeking damages for attacks by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine since 2014, including the shooting down of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17.
FRANCE 24's Fernande van Tets has more on the first time Russian and Ukrainian lawyers will meet at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), also known as the World Court, in The Hague.
10:01am: Dam destruction ‘confirms’ Russians ‘must be expelled’ from Ukraine: Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the destruction of the Kakhovka dam “confirms for the whole world that they [Russian forces] must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land”.
In a message posted on Twitter with footage of water pouring through a breakthrough in the dam, Zelensky also called on people to disseminate “official and verified information only”.
9:51am: Water level in town near dam could rise by up to 12 metres: Russian-installed official
The water level at the town immediately adjacent to the breached Nova Kakhovka dam could rise by up to 12 metres, said the town's Russian-installed mayor, Vladimir Leontyev, in a statement posted on Telegram.
Authorities said the water level in the town was expected to rise for the next 72 hours.
9:28am: Russia's Belgorod region under shelling, authorities tell residents
The Shebekino district in Russia's Belgorod region is being shelled, local authorities have informed residents. In messages via social media, residents were warned to take cover in cellars.
The Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, has repeatedly come under attack in recent weeks.
9:21am: European Council chief vows to hold Russia 'accountable' for dam attack
European Council President Charles Michel has expressed shock at the attack on the Nova Kakhovka dam and pledged to hold Russia accountable for the "war crime" of destroying civilian infrastructure.
"Shocked by the unprecedented attack of the Nova Kakhovka dam. The destruction of civilian infrastructure clearly qualifies as a war crime – and we will hold Russia and its proxies accountable," Michel wrote on social media.
8:53am: UK foreign minister blames dam blast on Russia's 'unprovoked' invasion
UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, visiting Ukraine on Tuesday, has blamed the destruction of the dam on Russia's invasion.
"I’ve heard reports of the explosion on the dam and the risk of flooding. It’s too early to make any kind of meaningful assessment of the details. But it’s worth remembering that the only reason this is an issue at all is because of Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine," he told Reuters.
"We’ll continue to assess the developing situation, but the best thing Russia could do now is withdraw their troops immediately.”
8:46am: Dam destruction has 'serious effects' for residents downstream, implications for Ukraine's military
FRANCE 24’s Ukraine correspondent Gulliver Cragg has more on the implications of the Kakhovka dam explosion.
One of the most worrying consequences is the effect the explosion could have on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, since the reservoir the Kakhovka dam holds in place supplies the plant with water.
Cragg spoke to a spokesman for Energoatom, Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear company, who explained that right now, since all the reactors at Zaporizhzhia are not operational, “it does not need nearly as much cooling waters as it would if it was actually generating electricity”.
The Energoatom spokesman said that for the moment, the amount of water they have in their reserve reservoirs will be enough to "avoid any kind of meltdown at the Zaporizhzhia plant", Cragg explained.
But downstream from the dam, residents will be seriously affected. “People on Ukrainian side are being evacuated. The Russian-held side of the Dnipro River, the left bank, is likely to be worse affected. We don’t have much information at the moment about evacuations on that side,” said Cragg.
In terms of Ukraine’s potential counteroffensive plans, the southeastern bank of the Dnipro River is a key target for Kyiv to liberate and then continue towards Crimea, said Cragg.
“This also has very major implications for Crimea because the reservoir behind the Kakhovka dam supplied the Dnipro Crimea Canal, which provides the peninsula with fresh water,” he said.
8:21am: Several villages on Dnipro River flooded: Ukrainian official
Several villages along the Dnipro River have been "completely or partially flooded" following damage to the Russian-occupied Nova Kakhovka dam and evacuations from the area have begun, said a Ukrainian official.
"About 16,000 people are in the critical zone on the right bank of the Kherson region," Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson military administration, said on social media, adding that there was flooding in eight areas along the Dnipro River.
8:08am: Kakhovka blast is ‘heinous war crime’, says Ukraine’s foreign minister
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has condemned the Nova Kakhovka dam blast.
“Russia destroyed the Kakhovka dam inflicting probably Europe’s largest technological disaster in decades and putting thousands of civilians at risk. This is a heinous war crime,” said Kuleba on Twitter.
“The only way to stop Russia, the greatest terrorist of the 21st century, is to kick it out of Ukraine,” he added.
7:55am: Situation at nuclear plant 'under control' after dam blast, Ukraine agency says
The destruction of the Kakhovka dam by Russian forces in southern Ukraine poses a threat to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, but the situation at the facility is under control, said Ukraine's state atomic power agency.
"Water from the Kakhovka Reservoir is necessary for the station to receive power for turbine capacitors and safety systems of the ZNPP," Energoatom said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. "Right now the station's cooling pond is full: as of 8:00am, the water level is 16.6 metres, which is sufficient for the station's needs."
"Currently, the situation at the ZNPP is under control, Ukrainian personnel are monitoring all indicators," it said.
7:40am: Zelensky says Kakhovka dam blast proves Russian forces 'must be expelled'
Russia's destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine confirms that Moscow's forces "must be expelled" from all of Ukraine, said President Volodymyr Zelensky.
"Russian terrorists. The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only confirms for the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
"Not a single metre should be left to them, because they use every metre for terror."
7:33am: ‘Nightmare scenario’ appears to unfold with dam blast
Reporting from Kyiv, FRANCE 24's Gulliver Cragg says it seems like the development that was "feared and much discussed last October, that one side or the other would blow up the dam, with both sides accusing each other, has actually happened".
Ukraine and Russia had previously accused each other of targeting the dam with attacks, and last October Zelensky predicted that Russia would destroy the dam in order to cause a flood.
"This is a nightmare scenario for hundreds of thousands of residents downstream," notes Cragg.
7:05am: Zelensky aide calls Nova Kakhovka dam blast an 'ecocide'
Russia's destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine represents an "ecocide", but national and regional officials are working to ensure the safety of local residents, said Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's presidential administration, on Telegram.
6:54am: Zelensky to hold emergency meeting over Nova Kakhovka dam blast
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky will hold an emergency meeting over the Nova Kakhovka dam blast in southern Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, has said on Twitter.
6:49am: Evacuation near Nova Kakhovka dam starts, says regional governor
The evacuation of areas near the Kakhovka region in southern Ukraine has begun, the governor of the Kherson region in Ukraine announced on Telegram.
"Within five hours the water will reach a critical level," regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram channel on 6:45am local time (0345 GMT).
Russia's TASS state news agency cited emergency services as saying that some 80 settlements in the area may be affected by the destruction of the dam.
5:30am: Nova Kakhovka dam in Kherson region blown up by Russian forces
The Nova Kakhovka dam in the Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine's Kherson region was blown up by Russian forces, the South command of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Tuesday.
"The scale of the destruction, the speed and volumes of water, and the likely areas of inundation are being clarified," the command said on its Facebook page.
Earlier, Russian state media quoted the Moscow-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka as denying the reports.
"Everything is quiet and calm, there is nothing at all," Russia's TASS agency cited the mayor, Vladimir Leontiev as saying.
5:00am: Russia says US-built F-16s could 'accommodate' nuclear weapons if sent to Ukraine
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that US-built F-16 fighter jets can 'accommodate' nuclear weapons and warned that supplying Kyiv with them will escalate the conflict further.
"We must keep in mind that one of the modifications of the F-16 can 'accommodate' nuclear weapons," Lavrov said in a speech at a military base in Dushanbe in Tajikistan, according to a transcript on the ministry's website.
"If they do not understand this, then they are worthless as military strategists and planners."
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has long appealed for the F-16 jets, saying their appearance with Ukrainian pilots would be a sure signal from the world that Russia's invasion would end in defeat.
US President Joe Biden told G7 leaders last month that Washington supported joint allied training programmes for Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighters
4:41am: Wagner boss slams Russian claims of enemy losses as 'wild fantasies'
Russia's claims that its military had inflicted massive casualties on advancing Ukrainian troops are "wild fantasies", the boss of Russian mercenary group Wagner said Tuesday.
Moscow's defence ministry said Monday it had thwarted a Ukrainian offensive, killing a total of "1,500 servicemen" and destroying more than 100 armoured vehicles.
"To destroy one and a half thousand people, it must be such a massacre, within one day, over 150 kilometres (90 miles), one hell of a massacre," Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Telegram in response to the claims.
"Therefore, I think that these are just some wild fantasies."
Prigozhin also said Monday that Kyiv's troops had made gains near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, which Russia claimed to have seized control of last month.
Russian troops, he said, were "slowly" leaving the village of Berkhivka near Bakhmut, which he said was a "disgrace".
Prigozhin has been embroiled in a public spat with Russia's regular army and has accused Moscow's military leadership of not supplying enough ammunition, among other criticisms.
1:33am: Russia, Ukraine face off at World Court over MH17 airliner downing
Ukraine and Russia face off at the top United Nations court on Tuesday over Moscow's alleged backing of pro-Russian separatists blamed for the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014.
Judges at the International Court of Justice will hear Ukraine's claim that Moscow violated a UN anti-terrorism treaty by equipping and funding pro-Russian forces who international investigators concluded shot down the jetliner over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew.
Flight MH17 departed from Amsterdam and was bound for Kuala Lumpur when it was struck by a Russian-made missile on July 17, 2014 as fighting raged between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces, the precursor of today's war.
Read yesterday's live blog to see how the day's events unfolded.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP and REUTERS)
