Damage to the Kakhovka dam has resulted in the flooding of 29 towns and villages along the Dnipro river, a Ukrainian minister says
Thousands of people have been evacuated from their homes in the Kherson region after yesterday's breach
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says hundreds of thousands of people have been left without drinking water - and officials say 42,000 are at flood risk
Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of damaging the dam - claims they both deny
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have advanced in "various sections of the Bakhmut direction", the country's deputy defence minister has said
Russia said it had defeated Ukrainian attacks near the city, which has been fought over for months
Ukraine dam: Swans seen swimming through Nova Kakhovka
Swans were seen swimming through the town of Nova Kakhovka in southern Ukraine after a dam at a hydro-electric plant in the town was breached.
Evacuations are under way after the incident in the Russian-held region of Kherson.
Image source, ReutersWater has been flowing through the dam since the early hours of this morning
Ukraine has accused Russian forces of blowing up a dam in the Kherson region - though Moscow denies this.
As water gushes through the breach at the dam site, here's everything you need to know :
Stay with us for more.
The Kremlin has blamed the attack on the dam in Nova Kakhovka on Ukraine, saying it was a "deliberate act of sabotage" by Kyiv.
Ukraine has accused Russia of blowing up the dam, in the Moscow-controlled region of Kherson, and the EU Council President Charles Michel has also pointed the finger at Moscow, saying the attack amounts to a "war crime".
But in his daily telephone conference call with journalists, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Moscow was responsible and blamed Kyiv.
"It is also linked to the fact that, having begun large-scale offensive operations two days ago, the Ukrainian armed forces are not achieving their aims. Their offensive operations are stalling."
The BBC has not been able to verify either Russia or Ukraine's claims.
In his statement, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi has also said the damage to the Nova Kakhovka dam was leading to a five centimetre per hour reduction in the height of the reservoir levels.
He explains that, according to his staff at the site, the water in the reservoir was at around 16.4 metres at 08:00 local time, but if it drops below 12.7 metres then it can no longer be pumped.
Grossi says non-essential consumers of water are being stopped at the power plant to reduce the consumption. But adds that "there are a number of alternative sources of water".
The head of the UN nuclear watchdog has said a lack of cooling water at the Zaporizhzia nuclear plant could disrupt its emergency diesel generator.
The area around the nuclear plant - near the breached dam - is in a Russian-controlled part of Ukraine.
“Absence of cooling water in the essential cooling water systems for an extended period of time would cause fuel melt and inoperability of the emergency diesel generators," Rafael Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement, external.
But he added that there was "no immediate risk to the safety of the plant" and pointed out there are a number of alternative water sources, including a large cooling pond next to the site.
Image source, ReutersWe reported earlier that President Zelensky had convened Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, in response to the dam breach.
On Telegram, he mentioned some of the things discussed in that meeting.
He accused Russia of blowing up the Kakhovka hydropower dam structures "from inside" at around 02:50 local time, adding that some 80 towns and villages could be affected by the flooding as a result.
He said his government and public services were doing "all we can to save people", and confirmed that orders had been given for those living in "danger zones" to be evacuated as soon as possible.
The Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Nova Kakhovka is now under water, according to reports by Russia's state-owned news agency Tass.
Russian emergency services are also saying that around 600 houses have been flooded after the Kakhovka dam was breached overnight.
Ukraine has blamed Russia for the damage, while Moscow has said Kyiv is to blame.
Image source, ReutersNato's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said the "outrageous" destruction of the Kakhovka dam showed "the brutality of Russia's war in Ukraine".
Writing on Twitter, external, he said the destruction put "thousands of civilians at risk and causes severe environmental damage".
As we reported earlier, UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly is in Ukraine and has downplayed suggestions of disagreements with the US over alleged Ukrainian military operations on Russian soil.
Cleverly said how the country chose to defend itself are “rightly decisions that are made by Ukraine’s leadership”.
Asked by reporters if there was a rift between Britain and the US over the issue, he said there wasn't.
Cleverly said the UK has "always worked incredibly closely of course with the United States of America and our other international allies".
"All countries, including the United Kingdom, have put limitations on the military equipment that we have donated."
He added that usually means equipment "can only be used within Ukrainian territory, and on that issue the UK and the US are on exactly the same place".
A state of emergency has been declared in the Nova Kakhovka district, according to Russian state-owned news agency Tass, citing a decree by local Moscow-backed authorities.
It comes after a major dam at a hydro-electric power plant was struck in the region.
Maksym, a local Ukrainian resident who lives close to the dam, spoke to European broadcasting union EVN on the phone and blames Russia for the explosion:
"Well, [Russia] has committed the next terror act. I think we need not to panic and await the decisions of our authorities, and listen to the instructions, of course."
He says he is not evacuating yet, saying he survived the occupation, and would survive this as well.
Another local Ukrainian resident, Mykhail Andreyevich, asks where he would go if they were going to be evacuated: "Where will I go? My daughter lives abroad in England. Where will I go?"
Andrei, another local Ukrainian resident, thinks Russia "wants to get the city drowned".
Image source, EPAUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the attack on the dam in Nova Kakhovka shows that Russian troops "must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land".
Writing on Telegram, Zelensky said that the "terrorists will not be able to stop Ukraine with water, missiles or anything else".
"It’s only Ukraine's victory that will return security," he said, adding: "And this victory will come."
Russia has denied carrying out the attack on the dam.
Zelensky also shared that all services continue to work, despite the damage, and urges anyone reading his update to "please spread official and verified information only".
Charles Michel, the President of the European Council, says he's "shocked by the unprecedented attack" on the dam in the Kherson region.
"The destruction of civilian infrastructure clearly qualifies as a war crime", he says in a tweet., external
Michel blames Russia for the attack, saying the EU council will hold Moscow accountable for its actions. Ukraine has accused Russia of carrying out the attack in the Moscow-occupied town of Nova Kakhova, but the Moscow-installed mayor has blamed the attack on Ukraine.
Neither claim has been verified by the BBC.
Michel adds he will propose more assistance to flooded areas in an upcoming summit of EU leaders in Brussels.
The Kakhovka dam holds back a vast reservoir that supplies water for a host of communities upstream, which means it could affect people's supplies there.
It also provides cooling water to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Europe's largest, around 100 miles (160 km) upstream, which is under Russian control and relies on the reservoir.
It was built in the Soviet era and is one of six dams that sits along the Dnipro river, which stretches all the way from the very north of the country into the sea in the south.
Read more here.
Image source, .Kherson's regional head Oleksandr Prokudin has accused Russia of committing "yet another act of terror".
In a video message posted on social media, he warns that water levels in the Dnipro river will be "critical" within five hours.
Prokudin says evacuation of those residents living in the threatened areas on the Ukraine-controlled right (western) bank of the Dnipro river has already started.
And he also appeals to the residents on the opposite bank - currently under Russian control - to immediately leave their homes.
Image source, ReutersA satellite image of the dam taken on 5 June
Images circulating on social media this morning show a massive breach in the Khakovka dam, with water already unleashed across the war zone and flooding downstream in the direction of Kherson.
It's not yet clear what caused the breach in the dam, but Ukraine's military has accused Russia of deliberately blowing it up early this morning.
This seems plausible, as Moscow may have feared that Ukrainian forces would use the road over the dam to get troops across the river into Russian-held territory, as part of a counter-offensive.
Meanwhile, Russian-installed officials have blamed Ukraine for striking the dam, but they say only the plant's upper part was destroyed by shelling - not the dam itself.
Neither Ukraine or Russia's claims have been verified by the BBC.
The UN's nuclear watchdog has said that it saw "no immediate nuclear safety risk" at the Zaporizhzhia power plant.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it was aware of the damage to the dam and its experts at the plant were monitoring the situation closely, external.
The Nova Kakhovka dam provides cooling water to Zaporizhzhia, which is Europe’s biggest atomic plant, and to Russian-held Crimea.
Image source, ReutersUK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam only happened because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
He's currently visiting Hrebelky outside Kyiv in Ukraine, after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba last night in the capital to discuss how the UK can continue to support Ukraine.
"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," he told Reuters news agency.
But he added the "only reason this is an issue at all is because of Russia's unprovoked full-scale invasion", before urging Russia to remove its troops.
Ukraine has accused Russia of blowing up a major dam at a hydro-electric power plant on the Dnipro river in the southern Kherson region of the country.
The dam is in the Russian-occupied town of Nova Kakhovka, where the Moscow-installed mayor has blamed Ukraine for the destruction.
If you're just joining us, here's what we know so far:
We'll continue bringing you updates here throughout the morning as we get them.
Image source, .
We’ve been investigating social media videos this morning that allegedly show the aftermath of a massive breach at the Nova Kakhovska dam.
By matching visual clues - like exterior details, the layout of buildings and weather conditions in the area - we’ve been able to verify the following footage so far:
We have also seen at least one old video circulating on the Telegram messaging app - it shows an explosion at night time. But the video has been circulating online since November.
We are looking for more footage of the aftermath of the breach in the surrounding area and will update you when we can.