The impressive images of the Ukrainian Kakhovka dam destroyed in an attack

The Kakhovka dam, located in the Russian-occupied areas of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, was partially destroyed overnight from Monday June 5 to Tuesday June 6.

At least 24 villages have been “completely or in part” flooded and residents have begun to be evacuated, a Ukrainian official said. “About 16,000 people are in the critical zone”said Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the military administration of the Kherson region.

Russia and Ukraine blame each other

Soon after the attack, the Ukrainian presidency accused Russia of having “blew up” at night the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam to flood the area and curb the Ukrainian offensive in preparation.

“The objective of the terrorists is obvious: to create obstacles for the offensive actions of the armed forces” Ukrainians, said Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, in a message addressed to journalists. Russia, for its part, accuses kyiv of attacking the dam and partially destroying it.

Moscow, for its part, rejects firmly” the accusations of the Ukrainian authorities and denounces an act of “deliberate sabotage” Kiev after the partial destruction of a hydroelectric dam in the partially Russian-occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine.

“All responsibility rests with the kyiv regime”, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. According to him, one of the objectives of such an action was to “deprive Crimea of ​​water”peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.

European Council President Charles Michel said on Tuesday that Russia should be held to account, citing a ” war crime “. “Shocked by the unprecedented attack on the Nova Kakhovka dam”tweeted Charles Michel. “The destruction of civilian infrastructure is clearly a war crime and we will hold Russia and its affiliates to account”he added.