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Collapse of major dam in southern Ukraine triggers emergency as Moscow and Kyiv trade blame

The environmental and social consequences quickly became clear
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This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows an overview of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine on Monday, June 5, 2023. Ukraine on Tuesday, June 6, accused Russian forces of blowing up the major dam and hydroelectric power station in a part of southern Ukraine they control, threatening a massive flood that could displace hundreds of thousands of people, and ordered residents downriver to evacuate. Russian news agency Tass quoted an unspecified Russian government official as saying the dam had “collapsed” due to damage. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

A major dam in southern Ukraine collapsed Tuesday (June 6), triggering floods, endangering crops in the country’s breadbasket and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war scrambled to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the destruction.

Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper River in an area that Moscow has controlled for over a year, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian bombardment in the contested area.

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