Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, in Ukraine

Image source, EPA

More than 24 hours on and the consequences of the dam’s breach are still playing out, even as the vast Khakovska reservoir continues to empty, sending flood waters surging down towards the Black Sea.

Satellite images show massive flooding on both sides of the Dnipro river, especially in low-lying terrain to the south, in territory still controlled by Russia.

In some communities, flood waters were so high that people were forced to spend the night on their roofs and sitting in trees, waiting to be rescued.

In Kherson, the only major city affected, the flooding is equally acute with some neighbourhoods close to the river now basically under water. Rescue operations continue, hampered by frequent shelling from Russian positions across the river.

The circumstances surrounding the dam’s collapse are still the subject of claim and counter-claim, but it was surely no accident that it happened just a day after Ukraine’s long-anticipated counter offensive appeared to get under way.

From a strictly military point of view, there’s a kind of brutal logic to what happened yesterday. Fearing Ukrainian attacks at any point along a 600 mile front line, it seems likely that Russian commanders decided to remove the only viable crossing point over the Dnipro south of the city of Zaporizhzhia.

Image source, Reuters

We can bring you more comments now from the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), who has been discussing the damage caused to the Kakhovka dam.

Raphael Grossi said this morning that the breach poses no short term risk to the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently controlled by the Russian military.

But he also said the situation was making an already very difficult and unpredictable nuclear safety and security situation even worse.

The dam's reservoir provides water used for the essential cooling of the six reactors at Europe's biggest nuclear power plant.

Grossi made it clear there were a number of alternative sources of water, including a large cooling pond next to the site that is designed to remain above the height of the reservoir, adding it was vitally important that this source of water remained intact.

Image source, Reuters

It's not yet clear what caused the damage to the Kakhovka dam, which is a very important resource and serves a number of purposes.

It holds back a vast reservoir that supplies water to a host of communities upstream, with farmers known to rely on the water to grow their crops. The breach could impact tens of thousands of people if it recedes far enough.

The dam also provides cooling water to the nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia, around 100 miles (161km) upstream, which is under Russian control and relies on the reservoir.

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said this morning the damage poses no short term risk to Zaporizhzhia, but it was exacerbating an already very difficult and unpredictable nuclear safety and security situation.

Drone footage, taken shortly after the Kakhovka dam was breached yesterday morning, shows the scale of the torrent of water flooding the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson over the last 24 hours.

Thousands of people have been evacuated from settlements along the banks of Dnipro river, which were hit by rising water levels.

The two countries have blamed each other for the dam breach.

Ukraine swiftly accused Moscow, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying the dam was "mined by Russian occupiers" who "blew it up". He said Russian forces, who've had control of the region since last year, likely blew the infrastructure up from inside the plant.

Moscow's messaging around the breach was more confused, as our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg explains here.

Eventually, though, the Kremlin settled on an official version of events - that Ukrainian forces struck the dam in “a deliberate act of sabotage,” as described by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

This war has been filled with claims and counter-claims, made by Ukraine and Russia, and it's still difficult for organisations like the BBC to verify either side's version of events.

At least seven people are missing after flooding in near Nova Kakhovka, the Russian-installed head of the occupied city has said.

The village of Korsunka on the Russian-controlled left bank of the Dnipro river is completely under water after the dam's collapse, Vladimir Leontiev also told the Russian news agency Tass.

Russian authorities have imposed a wider state of emergency in the areas of the Kherson region they continue to occupy, with 14 settlements already affected flooding or under threat from rising water levels.

Earlier, a state of emergency had just been declared around Nova Kakhovka, which has seen up to 12m (39ft) of flood waters and 900 people displaced from their homes since the dam was breached, Tass reports.

Image source, .

Image source, Reuters

The breaching of the dam in Nova Kakhovka, in the Russian-occupied region of Kherson, will have "grave and far-reaching consequences", the official in charge of humanitarian aid at the UN has said.

Martin Griffiths warned an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council that the magnitude of the catastrophe would only become clear in the coming days.

He told the body that thousands of people in southern Ukraine are facing "the loss of homes, food, safe water and livelihoods" on both sides of the frontline.

If you weren't following this story yesterday, or need a recap, here's what happened:

• A dam at a hydro-electric plant in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Nova Kakhovka was breached, causing water to gush through it and flood dozens of communities
• Thousands of people were evacuated from the region amid reports of Russian shelling in the area
• Kyiv accused Moscow of blowing up the infrastructure, with President Zelensky claiming the dam was "mined by Russian occupiers"
• The Kremlin vehemently denied this, with defence minister Sergei Shoigu alleging it was "another terrorist crime by the Kyiv regime"
• The dam is a significant resource, supplying water to a host of communities upstream and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station
• UN chief Antonio Guterres called the breach a "monumental" catastrophe on a humanitarian, economic and ecological level

Image source, Reuters

Marita Moloney
Live reporter

Hello and welcome as we resume our live coverage of the Ukraine war and the fallout from a major dam in southern Ukraine being badly damaged.

The breach of the dam in Nova Kakhovka, a Russian-occupied town in Kherson, southern Ukraine, yesterday morning sent floods rushing towards the surrounding area, leading to thousands of people being evacuated.

Russian state media reports this morning that a state of emergency has been imposed in the annexed part of Ukraine’s Kherson region.

The UN has warned of “grave and far-reaching consequences” following the incident.

Water levels are still rising in some areas and it’s expected that flooding will peak today, although this may vary by area. Russia and Ukraine have both blamed each other for the dam collapse.

We’ll be bringing you the latest on the ground as well as analysis of the situation, so stay with us.

We're pausing our coverage of the fallout following the destruction of a dam in Ukraine's Kherson region.

Evacuation efforts are ongoing, with thousands fleeing towns and villages submerged by flooding. Take a look at our news story on this here for more.

You can also read more about when and how the incident unfolded here.

Today's coverage was written by Sam Hancock, Malu Cursino, Victoria Lindrea, Andrew Humphrey and Ece Goksedef. It was edited by Alexandra Fouché, Alex Therrien, Aoife Walsh, Alys Davies and Emily McGarvey. Thank you for joining us.

Let's take a look at today's key lines after a dam was breached in the Russian-controlled southern region of Kherson overnight.

• Thousands of people are being evacuated from the region, despite Ukraine reporting Russian shelling in the area, with 24 different settlements already flooded
• Ukraine has accused Russia of blowing up the infrastructure, but the Kremlin vehemently denies it and says Kyiv is to blame
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims the dam was "mined by Russian occupiers" and that it was "blown up"
• Moscow has denied this, with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu alleging it was "another terrorist crime by the Kyiv regime"
• UN chief Antonio Guterres called the breach a "monumental" catastrophe on a humanitarian, economic and ecological level

This footage shows damage done to the Kakhovka dam.

The destruction in the area adds to the misery thousands of people caught on the front lines of the war have already experienced.

Flooding has engulfed Ukraine's Kherson region after a dam in Nova Kakhovka was breached, leaving a trail of destruction behind.

Here's some images from the scene:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

The US and Canada have both expressed concern over the dam destruction in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian region of Kherson.

A Biden administration official said the US is "very concerned" by the dam breach and Washington is trying to find out more about the potential impact, Reuters news agency reports.

Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters the destruction was "another example of the horrific consequences of Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine".

Russia's confused messaging over dam breachpublished at 16:53 British Summer Time 6 June 2023

16:53 BST 6 June 2023

Steve Rosenberg
Russia editor, in Moscow

Early this morning, the messaging out of Moscow seemed confused. One report by the state-owned Tass news agency quoted the Moscow-appointed mayor in Nova Kakhovka (where the dam was breached) as saying: “Everything’s quiet and peaceful. There’s nothing going on here at all.”

Soon after, another Tass report quoted the same official – but with a very different story: “There were multiple [missile] strikes on the Kakhovka dam at 02:00… the most serious act of terrorism.”

By lunchtime, Russia’s official version of events had taken shape. Officials here were insisting that Ukrainian forces had struck the dam, “a deliberate act of sabotage by the Ukrainian side,” said Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov.

They linked the alleged attack to Kyiv's counter-offensive, which Moscow claims is “faltering.” Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed it was a tactic to provide cover for Ukraine to redeploy units for offensive operations.

Russia’s version of events is 180 degrees different from Ukraine’s. President Volodymyr Zelensky insists Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka hydro-electric power plant from inside.

Olga, who lives in Kherson, told BBC Radio 5 live that she was woken up at 07:00 local time by her friends' messages. "All the houses near the river are completely flooded, people are being evacuated," says Olga.

"I’m in shock watching how people are losing everything. The water is really coming up and rising."

She says she has packed her suitcase and has prepared everything she needs but she has four cats and two dogs and doesn't know how she'll take all of them with her.

"I’m 62 and my whole life I’ve lived here. My kids had to leave, and I stayed... I don’t want to leave this place."

Image source, Reuters

Thousands of people are being evacuated after a dam in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson was breached overnight.

Dozens of towns are flooded and the long-term impact has been described as an "environmental catastrophe".

Here's the latest top lines:

• Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of blowing up the dam, while Moscow claims the destruction was a "deliberate act of sabotage" by Kyiv
• Russia's Investigative Committee says it has launched a criminal investigation into the breach. Meanwhile, Kyiv says it has opened a war crimes probe

• The dam is a significant resource, supplying water to a host of communities and Europe's largest nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia
• The head of the UN nuclear watchdog said a lack of cooling water at Zaporizhzia could disrupt its emergency diesel generators - though the situation at the plant is said to be under control
• Nato's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg described the "outrageous" destruction as proof of "the brutality of Russia's war in Ukraine", while the EU has condemned the attack as a new example of the "barbaric aggression" by Russia against Ukraine

• Fighting is continuing in the region, with Ukraine reporting Russian shelling in areas being evacuated

We'll bring you more as we get it.

We reported earlier that in a video the BBC verified today, you could see a beaver wandering the flooded streets of a district in Kherson, southern Ukraine.

You can now see that clip for yourself, as well as other footage from the same area - Neftehavan - where water appears to still be rising as a result of the damage caused to the Kakhovka dam dozens of miles away.

Kyiv has opened a war crimes investigation following the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, as well as investigating a possible case of "ecocide", a Ukrainian prosecutor general has said.

Andriy Kostin said Ukraine is gathering information with teams on the ground and they'll provide all details to the International Criminal Court.

Kostin told the BBC "around 1,500 people were already evacuated" from the region. A little earlier, he said in a tweet that more than 17,000 people were being evacuated from flooded areas.

But he claims the evacuation operation is under strain because of Russian shelling, which he says injured two police officers working in the area.

The attack on the Kakhovka dam is a "huge ecological catastrophe", a Ukrainian MP for Odesa says.

Oleksiy Goncharenko says more than 150 tonnes of engine oil - from the hydroelectric plant - has seeped into the flooded waters.

"The consequences will last for decades," he tells BBC News.

The Geneva Convention bans targeting dams in war because of the danger to civilians posed by their destruction.