Flooded streets are seen in Kherson, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 7, following the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam.
In pictures: The collapse of Ukraine's Nova Kakhovka dam
Flooded streets are seen in Kherson, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 7, following the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam.
Libkos/AP

Updated 6:33 AM EDT, Wed June 7, 2023

The Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine suffered a collapse early Tuesday, June 6, forcing more than 1,400 people to flee their homes and threatening vital water supplies as flooding inundated the region.

Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations over the Russian-occupied dam's destruction, without providing concrete proof that the other is culpable. It is not yet clear whether the dam was deliberately attacked or whether the breach was the result of structural failure. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation as "an environmental bomb of mass destruction," as concerns turned to the dangers to wildlife, farmlands, settlements and water supplies from the floodwaters and possible contamination from industrial chemicals and oil leaking from the hydropower plant into the Dnipro River.

The critical dam is the largest reservoir in Ukraine in terms of volume. It's the last of the cascade of six Soviet-era dams on the Dnipro River, a major waterway running through southeastern Ukraine. There are multiple towns and cities downstream, including Kherson, a city of some 300,000 people before Moscow's invasion of its neighbor.

A woman reacts as she is evacuated from a flooded neighborhood in Kherson.
A woman reacts as she is evacuated from a flooded neighborhood in Kherson.
Roman Hrytsyna/AP
Dogs stand in floodwaters in Kherson on June 7.
Dogs stand in floodwaters in Kherson on June 7.
Muhammed Enes Yildirim/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A satellite image shows the damaged dam on Tuesday, June 6.
A satellite image shows the damaged dam on Tuesday, June 6.
Handout/Planet Labs PBC/Reuters
Red Cross workers drive along a street in Kherson on June 6.
Red Cross workers drive along a street in Kherson on June 6.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Local resident Tetiana holds her pets, Tsatsa and Chunya, as she stands inside her flooded house after the destruction of the dam.
Local resident Tetiana holds her pets, Tsatsa and Chunya, as she stands inside her flooded house after the destruction of the dam.
Evgeniy Maloletka/AP
Local residents stand on an embankment of the flooded Dnipro River as smoke rises from shelling on the opposite bank.
Local residents stand on an embankment of the flooded Dnipro River as smoke rises from shelling on the opposite bank.
Ivan Antypenko/Reuters
Local residents react after they evacuated a flooded area in Kherson.
Local residents react after they evacuated a flooded area in Kherson.
Vladyslav Musiienko/Reuters
A view shows the House of Culture on a flooded street in Nova Kakhovka.
A view shows the House of Culture on a flooded street in Nova Kakhovka.
Alexey Konovalov/TASS/Handout/Reuters
People make their way through floodwaters in Kherson.
People make their way through floodwaters in Kherson.
Libkos/AP
People are seen in — and on — an army truck as emergency responders work during evacuations.
People are seen in — and on — an army truck as emergency responders work during evacuations.
Felipe Dana/AP
Local residents comfort each other following their evacuation from a flooded area.
Local residents comfort each other following their evacuation from a flooded area.
Vladyslav Musiienko/Reuters
Rescue workers attempt to tow boats carrying evacuated residents on June 6.
Rescue workers attempt to tow boats carrying evacuated residents on June 6.
Libkos/AP
The roof of a house is seen in the flooded Dnipro River in Kherson.
The roof of a house is seen in the flooded Dnipro River in Kherson.
Ivan Antypenko/Reuters
Evacuees wait for a train at a railway station in Kherson on June 6.
Evacuees wait for a train at a railway station in Kherson on June 6.
Nina Lyashonok/AP
A view of the breached dam on June 6.
A view of the breached dam on June 6.
Alexey Konovalov/TASS/Reuters
Local resident Oleksandra walks around her house on a flooded street in Kherson.
Local resident Oleksandra walks around her house on a flooded street in Kherson.
Alina Smutko/Reuters