As we've been reporting, Ukraine's military has accused Russian forces of blowing up the Nova Khakovka dam in the Moscow-seized region of Kherson in the south of the country.

President Zelensky has shared a video of the dam on his Telegram page.

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, in Ukraine

The destruction of the dam at Nova Khakovka could have serious consequences in a number of directions. Most immediately, communities downstream are now facing the possibility of widespread flooding.

The authorities in Kherson, less than 50 miles downstream, have warned residents in low lying parts of the city to evacuate as quickly as possible and seek shelter on higher ground.

There are other dangers.

The dam holds back the waters of the Dnipro, forming a vast reservoir that provides water for a host of communities upstream.

The reservoir also provides cooling water for Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia, around 100 miles upstream.

The authorities in Kyiv say the situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant, which has been occupied by Russian troops since last year, is “under control”, but could deteriorate if the plant’s cooling pond starts to empty.

Yuri Sak, an adviser to Ukraine’s ministry of defence, tells the BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that phone intercepts have suggested Russia wants to target more dams.

"They’re actually calling to blow up more dams on the Dnipro river," he tells the BBC.

He adds the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant uses the water from the reservoir to cool down its reactors, but said the situation was currently stable.

"The UN atomic agency has been informed. For the moment, there is no immediate risk, but of course the situation develops very rapidly."

Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson military regional administration, says at least eight different settlements in the area are already flooded following the reported destruction at the dam, and authorities are preparing for more flooding across the region.

He says at least 16,000 people are at risk from the floodwaters.

Residents in the at-risk regions are being evacuated by buses to Kherson, then they will be moved to different cities across the country including the capital, Kyiv, Prokudin says in a Telegram post.

An evacuation train will leave Kherson for the southern city of Mykolaiv at midday, he added.

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, in Ukraine

We have this statement from Energoatom, Ukraine’s state nuclear energy generating company, about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP), following destruction of the dam at Nova Kakhovka:

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, in Ukraine

Ukraine has accused Russia of blowing up the dam. This seems the most logical explanation, as Russia probably feared that Ukraine would use it to get troops across the river in its latest counter-offensive.

Destruction of the dam may have other consequences.

A vital channel carrying water from the Dnipro to Russian-occupied Crimea, which starts at Nova Khakovka, is likely to be affected, as well as the nuclear power station at Zaporizhzhia, which sits on the bank of the Dnipro around 160km upstream.

In a statement this morning, Andryi Yermak, head of President Zelensky’s office, said Russia would be responsible for depriving the people of Crimea of drinking water and said Russia’s actions “pose a threat to the ZNPP” (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant).

Paul Adams
Diplomatic correspondent, in Ukraine

Images circulating on social media this morning show a massive breach in the dam at Nova Kakhovska, northeast of the Ukrainian city of Kherson.

Water from the Dnipro River is flooding downstream in the direction of Kherson. The authorities have warned residents in low lying parts of the city to evacuate as quickly as possible and seek shelter on higher ground.

Depending on the size of the breach, which looks very substantial, the flooding downstream could be substantial - even catastrophic. Modelling done late last year suggested that large areas on both right and left banks of the river could be inundated.

One video circulating on Telegram purports to show an explosion at the dam, but the BBC has already established that this was from last November, when the Ukrainian military destroyed the railway link on the north side of the dam as part of its effort to retake the area around Kherson.

Image source, Maxar Technologies

We're hearing that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has called an emergency meeting of the country's National Security and Defence Council.

Oleksiy Danilov, who's secretary of the council, said on Twitter the meeting was being held "in connection with the explosion of the Kakhovsky reservoir dam".

We'll bring you more on that when we have it.

Jaroslav Lukiv
Live reporter

Image source, Maxar images

Ukraine's military has accused Russian forces of blowing up a major dam in the Moscow-seized Kherson region, in the south of the country, and has warned thousands of houses downstream will now be flooded.

The military said "the scale of the destruction" of the Kakhovska Hydroelectric Power Plant on the Dnipro river was now being analysed.

A Russian-installed local official said only the upper part of the plant had been destroyed by shelling - but not the dam itself.

Neither of the claims have been yet been verified by the BBC.

The Soviet-era Kakhovska HPP is located in the city of Nova Kakhovka in Ukraine's Kherson region.

The city and other areas on Dnipro's left (eastern) bank are currently under Russian occupation.

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

Overnight we've been checking reports that a major dam at a hydro-electric power plant on the Dnipro river has been destroyed.

The Soviet-era plant is in the city of Nova Kakhovka in the southern Kherson region - currently under Russian occupation - and there are fears that thousands of houses downstream could be flooded as a result.

We're working to gather and verify footage, and will bring you the latest as we have it.

Stick with us.