Dramatic video footage circulating on social media shows large amounts of water gushing from the dam, which is located in the Dnieper River in the Russian-controlled Kherson region, on Tuesday morning.
According to Ukrainian authorities, evacuations have begun downstream and residents near the river are urged by Ukraine's military command in Kherson to leave the area immediately.
"Do everything you can to save your lives," a spokesperson said.
The extent of the damage is still unknown. But it is clear that the water flows risk causing great devastation in the city of Kherson and other surrounding villages and towns. SVT News has geolocated the film that shows how the water flows out of the 80-year-old dam, which is 30 meters high and 3.2 kilometers long.
Widespread devastation feared
In addition to supplying the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, the dam is also an important source of drinking water for residents south of the Kherson region and in Russian-annexed Crimea.
Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of the Ukrainian presidential office, in a message on Telegram, called the incident ecocide due to the negative impact on drinking water supply that the damage to the dam risks entailing.
Blaming each other
The circumstances of what happened are still unclear. The Nova Kakhovka Dam, built in 1956, has been the subject of speculation about its military-strategic importance since the Russian invasion began. Ukraine claims that Russian forces have blown up the dam during a nightly attack – while Russia claims that Ukraine itself is behind the damage.
The Russian-appointed mayor of Kherson, Vladimir Leontiev, initially dismissed the damage to the dam but later turned around, calling the incident, according to the Russian state-controlled news agency Tass, "a serious terrorist attack."