Ukraine‘s Kakhovka Reservoir is undermining by floods, according to Ukrainian news agency Ukrhydroenergo

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.

The operator wrote that the water levels in the Kakhovka reservoir were needed for the plant to feed turbine condensers and ZNPP safety systems.

The Kakhovka Reservoir had been holding record amounts of water. In recent weeks, its water levels surged to record highs, in an abrupt shift after levels fell sharply over the fall and winter.

Water rushing from the reservoir won’t peak until Wednesday morning, Ukrhydroenergo CEO Igor Sirota said via social media, adding that it would likely take four to five more days after that for water levels to start to recede.

By 4 p.m. local time, water submerged 13 settlements and more than 260 houses on the river’s right bank, according to Ukrhydroenergo, Ukraine’s state hydroelectric company, citing preliminary data. More than 1,300 people were evacuated, it said.

The President’s website says that 150 tons of machine oil used in theplant’s turbine was swept into the Dnipro River after the flooding threat.

The breach has destroyed 16 gates, the hydroelectric power station and an earthen dam, Ukrhydroenergo, Ukraine’s hydro electric company, said in an update on Tuesday.

Things got worse this year. On June 2, a road that traverses a part of the dam seemingly failed, indicating a potential structural failure.

The dam has stood since the 1950s, when it created a reservoir about the size of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. It provides electricity and water to regional systems and a network of irrigation canals.

The goal now is to protect the remaining sources of water for the plant. He said a pond near the eastern bank would likely be enough to provide water for cooling for some months.

The reactors have been offline for a long period of time. They still require cooling to move residual heat out of their cores, but that requires much less water than normal operations.

The International Atomic Energy Agency Director General said at the time that the Reservoir was roughly 54 feet in height. The power plant’s cooling system cannot be pumped if the level falls below 42 feet.

But they also say the plant’s circumstances are more dire than ever, as the reservoir’s falling water level is expected to cut off the main supply of water used to cool the plant’s reactors and prevent a meltdown.

The Kakhovska dam was completely destroyed, Ukraine’s state hydro power generating company wrote in a statement: “The station cannot be restored.” Russia blew the station up from inside the engine room according to Ukrhydroenergo.

Ukraine controls the western side of the Dnipro River (which is also called the Dnieper), and Russia controls the eastern side, including the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.

Leontyev, the Russian-appointed mayor, said Tuesday that numerous strikes on the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant destroyed its valves, and “water from the Kakhovka reservoir began to uncontrollably flow downstream.” Leontyev said the damage to the station was beyond repair, and would have to be rebuilt.

The leader of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said in a video posted to Telegram before 7 a.m. that the Russian army had committed another act of terror and that water would reach critical levels within five hours.

Footage from what appeared to be a monitoring camera overlooking the dam that was circulating on social media purported to show a flash, explosion and breakage of the dam.

Online Videos of a Damserupting Dam in the Dnipro, southern Ukraine, and a threat to nuclear power plants

The Ukrainian Interior Ministry called for residents of 10 villages on the Dnipro’s right bank and parts of the city of Kherson downriver to gather essential documents and pets, turn off appliances, and leave, while cautioning against possible disinformation.

Videos were posted online to show the spillover. One shows flooding taking out a long roadway, while the other shows a beaver on high ground.

The advisor to President Zelenskyy said that a global ecological disaster is taking place online and will destroy thousands of animals in the next few hours.

KYIV, Ukraine — A major dam near a nuclear power plant suddenly collapsed overnight in southern Ukraine, creating the likelihood of widespread flooding and posing an additional risk to an already troubled nuclear plant.

The risk of a nuclear accident has been warned by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency said in a statement it was “closely monitoring” the plant and did not see any immediate dangers.

The latest development comes as there are growing signs that the Russian forces are about to be hit by a military offensive from the Ukrainians.

Video on social media shows a big chunk missing from the Kakhovka dam, on the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, allowing water to surge through the opening.

The dam of the country’s hydroelectric company, Ukrhydroenergo, was destroyed by an explosion in the engine room, which it said was controlled by Russia.

Ukrainian offensive against the Bakhmut facility in the Donbas–Yukukraine border – the main source of water and the threat of further attacks

Ukrainian officials said that some 80 cities, towns and villages are at risk along the river which is considered the front line in southern Ukraine.

Water is going to come. The situation is worse because some roads are being washed away. “Evacuation groups are looking for other ways,” said Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko.

The grounds of the facility and nearby areas were repeatedly hit by shelling after Russian troops seized it last year.

Russia claimed Monday it had repelled a large push by Ukrainian ground forces in the eastern Donbas region, which it said started the offensive.

Zelenskyy praised the Ukrainian soldiers who were fighting around Bakhmut. But he wasn’t sure if this was part of the larger offensive.