Ukraine dam: The city of Kherson has had enough

In the drive towards Kherson's riverbanks, water from the Dnipro river arrives earlier than expected.

Ahead, rooftops protrude above its brown, cloudy flood waters. To the right is the roof of a small truck.

Occasionally a small rescue boat weaves through the submerged streets to pull people trapped in their homes.

The city is just over 75km (45 miles) downstream of the Kakhovka dam, destroyed on Tuesday, and flood waters have badly hit low-lying areas.

This is a city which has experienced all the devastating dimensions of Russia's invasion.

We meet Viktoriia, whose house was destroyed in February.

"I moved to my son's apartment here, which has now been flooded," she tells us. "We managed to get out."

"There was panic, we had to leave quickly and grab the dogs. My brother is half paralysed too."

Viktoriia is worried about her neighbours, who live towards what is now a watery horizon. Waters levels could rise further and are expected to peak hours after we met.

"My neighbours are effectively hostages," she says. "I'm not sure if the emergency services can enter the building, but they need to know there are more people there. Please help!"

Kherson residents just want the nightmare to be over

As helpless as listening to Viktoriia's experience might make you feel, she represents a shift in mood here.

"I hope things will be fine again," she says. "We'll be liberated and this nightmare will be over."

Kherson has gone through occupation, then liberation after heavy fighting. It's shelled most days - and now this.

When we were here last November, there was an enduring optimism.

The only Ukrainian regional centre to be occupied by Russian forces during last year's invasion, the city had just been liberated by Ukrainian troops in a rapid counter-offensive.

That atmosphere has now changed. Morale is lower. People have had enough.

The Kakhovka dam has become a symbol of leverage between Kyiv and Moscow. When Russia first annexed Crimea in 2014, Ukrainian authorities closed it down and cut off the peninsula from a major water supply.

Then last year, invading forces were accused by Ukraine of planting the dam with explosives, which the Kremlin denied.

Now, with its breaching and subsequent devastation, a full hand has been played by one of the sides.

Additional reporting by Rachael Thorn and Daria Sipigina.