Family trapped in home flood
Military drone video shows family trapped in a Russian controlled village after dam collapse
01:42 - Source: CNN

What we covered here

  • Evacuations continue in Ukrainian-controlled areas of the southern Kherson region as the area reels from flooding brought by the collapse of a major dam Tuesday amid fears of an ecological catastrophe
  • Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the breach, which occurred in territory occupied by Russia. The cause remains unclear, and CNN analysis of satellite images shows the dam was damaged just days before it collapsed.
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation in the occupied part of Kherson as “catastrophic” and called for support from the international community.
  • Meanwhile, Russia’s Belgorod region saw heavy shelling overnight, according to its governor, while Ukraine’s deputy defense minister says fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut “remains the epicenter of hostilities.”
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Putin and Saudi crown prince discuss trade and economic ties, Kremlin says

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed cooperation within the OPEC+ during a phone call on Wednesday, according to a statement by the Kremlin. 

“Issues of multifaceted Russian-Saudi cooperation were discussed. Specifically, attention was paid to measures for further strengthening trade and economic ties, and the implementation of prospective joint projects in investment, transport logistics, and energy,” statement said. 

“The two sides discussed in detail how to ensure stability in the world energy market. The sides expressed great appreciation for the level of cooperation within the framework of ‘OPEC Plus,’ which allows for taking timely and efficient steps to maintain the balance of supply and demand for oil. They noted the importance of the agreements reached during the recent ministerial meeting in Riyadh,” according to the statement. 

They also discussed “various aspects of Russia-Saudi cooperation in the framework of other multilateral organizations” and “agreed to continue contacts at various levels,” according to the Kremlin. 

The last time the two spoke on the phone was on April 21, according to Russian state news agency TASS. 

More background: OPEC+ is an alliance between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and a group of non-OPEC oil-producing countries, including Russia, Mexico, and Kazakhstan.

Formed in 2016, OPEC+ coordinates and regulates oil production and stabilizes global oil prices. Its members produce about 40% of the world’s crude oil and have a significant impact on the global economy.

OPEC+’s decision to cut oil production in April could have big implications for Russia.

After Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the United States and United Kingdom immediately stopped purchasing oil from the country. The European Union also stopped importing Russian oil that was sent by sea.

Members of the G7 — an organization of leaders from some of the world’s largest economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States — have also imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel on oil exported by Russia, keeping the country’s revenues artificially low. If oil prices continue to rise, some analysts have speculated that the US and other western nations may have to loosen that price cap.

CNN’s Nicole Goodkind contributed to this report.

Zelensky calls for swift humanitarian response from international community after dam collapse

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation in the occupied part of the Kherson region as “catastrophic” as water levels on Wednesday continued to rise after the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydro-electric power plant collapsed early Tuesday.

“Today, we have been focusing all day on the consequences of the Russian terrorist attack on the (Nova) Kakhovka hydro-electric power plant. Dozens of settlements on the territory under our control have been flooded. Thousands of houses have been flooded!” Zelensky said during his nightly address.

“The situation in the occupied part of the Kherson region is absolutely catastrophic. The occupiers simply abandoned people in these terrible conditions. Without rescue, without water, just on the roofs of houses in flooded communities,” he added.

Zelensky called for a “clear and swift” humanitarian response from the international community, saying it’s difficult to know “how many people in the temporarily occupied territory of Kherson region may die without rescue, without drinking water, without food, without medical care.”

He said Ukraine’s military and emergency services “are rescuing as many people as possible,” despite Russian shelling.

“But more efforts are needed. We need international organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, to immediately join the rescue operation and help people in the occupied part of Kherson region,” Zelensky said.

The Ukrainian president expressed his frustration saying, “Unfortunately, the world’s attention was not enough.”

It's past midnight in Kyiv. Here's what you need to know

As the southern Kherson region reels from flooding brought by the collapse of a major dam, Ukrainian officials say Russia carried out strikes that killed one person in the region.

The Nova Kakhovka dam’s collapse has prompted evacuations for thousands of people and spurred fears of an ecological catastrophe.

Here are more of the latest headlines from the war in Ukraine:

  • Evacuations are ongoing in Ukrainian-controlled Kherson region: Evacuations in flooded areas are ongoing after the Nova Kakhovka dam’s collapse on Tuesday, officials in Ukrainian-controlled Kherson said. The head of the Kherson region military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said: “We expect that the water will stay and accumulate for another day and then will gradually decrease for another 5 days.”
  • Some civilians in Kherson are determined to stay in flooded homes: Rescuers and aid workers in Kherson have found some people are determined to stay in flooded homes rather than be evacuated after the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse, an international aid worker in the region told CNN Wednesday. CARE Ukraine Area Manager Selena Kozakijevic said there are an “unknown number of people who are determined to stay in their houses even though they are flooded” and that many of these are elderly.
  • Top Senate Republican expresses concern over Ukraine aid and defense funding in debt limit law: US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell began his weekly press conference railing on the defense spending levels in the debt limit law, saying Congress must provide more money for national security programs — all the while acknowledging there’s no clear path to fixing it, given House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s opposition to spending additional funds beyond the caps set by the new law. McConnell acknowledged the divide between him and McCarthy on providing additional funding for Ukraine and whether Congress will provide it will be difficult.
  • Ukrainian PM asks for help to evacuate residents from flood areas: Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed Wednesday to leading international aid organizations to help evacuate residents in the flooded areas of the Russian-occupied Kherson region. He claimed occupying Russian forces have offered “no help” following a devastating dam breach. Shmyhal addressed leaders of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a video message posted on Twitter, urging them to “act immediately.”
  • Ukraine launches “ecocide” and war crimes probe into dam incident: Ukraine is investigating the Nova Kakhovka dam incident as a war crime and as possible “ecocide,” or criminal environmental destruction, a statement from the Prosecutor General’s Office said Wednesday. “The legal classification is ecocide and violation of the laws and customs of war … A specially created interagency and interregional group of investigators from the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police is working on the investigation,” the statement said.
  • Russians have done “more damage to themselves” with dam collapse, Ukrainian defense official says: Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said with the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam “the Russians have actually done more damage to themselves and their armed forces.” Mailar said the incident has damaged Russian fortifications and military positions. Speaking on national TV, Mailar said: “Basically, the territory that is now under the control of the aggressor will be more affected.”
  • Ukrainian troops witnessed Russian soldiers swept away in floodwaters: Ukrainian troops witnessed Russian soldiers being swept up in floodwaters and fleeing the east bank of the Dnipro River after the collapse of the Nova Khakovka dam, an officer in Ukraine’s armed forces said. Many Russian troops were killed or wounded in the chaos, according to the officer. Capt. Andrei Pidlisnyi said when the dam collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday morning “no one on the Russian side was able to get away. All the regiments the Russians had on that side were flooded.” 

Ukrainian president accuses Russian forces of shooting at rescuers in flooded areas

During an exclusive interview with a German outlet, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian forces of shooting at Ukrainian rescuers who are trying to reach flooded areas in the Kherson region that is under Russian control.

“People, animals have died. From the roofs of the flooded houses, people see drowned people floating by. You can see that on the other side. It is very difficult to get people out of the occupied part of Kherson region,” Zelensky told prominent German outlet, Bild, in an exclusive interview published Wednesday.

“When our forces try to get them [the residents] out, they are shot at by occupiers from a distance,” Zelensky told Bild. “As soon as our helpers try to rescue them, they are shot at. We won’t be able to see all the consequences until a few days from now, when the water has trickled down a bit.”

On Wednesday, a volunteer taking part in the rescue efforts in Kherson region, which was flooded following the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, told CNN volunteers face Russian shelling on nearly every sortie. 

“Of course, it is extremely dangerous,” said Roman Skabdrakov from the Kaiman Volunteer Group. 

More background: Nova Kakhovka, a major dam and hydroelectric power plant in the Russian-occupied southern Kherson region, suffered a collapse early Tuesday, prompting evacuations for thousands of people.

Russia and Ukraine continue to blame each other for the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydro-electric power plant.

CNN’s Frederik Pleitgen and Vasco Cotovio contributed to this report.

Some civilians in Kherson are determined to stay in flooded homes, international aid worker says

A view from the roof of residential building in a flooded area of Kherson on June 7.

Rescuers and aid workers in Kherson have found some people are determined to stay in flooded homes rather than be evacuated after the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse, an international aid worker in the region told CNN, Wednesday. 

CARE Ukraine Area Manager Selena Kozakijevic said there are an “unknown number of people who are determined to stay in their houses even though they are flooded” and that many of these are elderly.

Some have experienced more than a year of conflict or have recently returned to their homes and are “less willing to leave because of flooding,” she said.

The city of Kherson was under Russian occupation for eight months and continues to face shelling from Russian forces on the other side of the Dnipro River. 

Asked about Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal’s appeal for international aid organizations to help people in flooded parts of Russian-occupied areas of Kherson, Kozakijevic said some of the local partners CARE has been working with have received calls from people in occupied areas saying they are struggling to find assistance and requesting support.

“Unfortunately, the left bank of the river is not accessible from the right side and this is primary reason why from the Ukrainian-controlled areas, the assistance at the moment is not passing to the other side,” she said.

Kozakijevic said what is happening in Kherson now is a “further crisis moment” that can only exacerbate the situation in the region. CARE works with local partners who have been assisting the humanitarian response on the front lines from the start of the war.

French president and UN secretary general discuss humanitarian situation in Ukraine following dam collapse

Rescuers evacuate a local resident from a flooded area in Kherson on June 7.

The humanitarian situation in Ukraine following the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse was the topic of conversation between French President Emmanuel Macron and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday, the Elysée Palace said in a statement. 

“The President of the Republic mentioned the fact that the Foreign Ministry’s Crisis and Support Center would very shortly be dispatching a first convoy of around ten tons of equipment to meet the immediate needs of the civilian population (health, hygiene, water purification, portable cisterns),” the statement reads.
“He also expressed the hope that humanitarian aid would be provided to Ukrainian populations affected by the floods and living in territories controlled by the Russian army,” it continued. 

On Wednesday, Macron also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, where he expressed his “solidarity with the Ukrainian people after the attack on the Kakhovka dam.”

“France condemns this atrocious act, which is endangering populations,” Macron said on Twitter. “Within the next few hours, we will send aid to meet immediate needs.”

McConnell expresses concern over Ukraine aid and defense funding in debt limit law

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell arrives to a news conference at the US Capitol Building in Washington, DC, on June 7.

US Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell began his weekly press conference railing on the defense spending levels in the debt limit law, saying Congress must provide more money for national security programs — all the while acknowledging there’s no clear path to fixing it, given House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s opposition to spending additional funds beyond the caps set by the new law.

McConnell said the Pentagon funding is “totally inadequate” to address the defense needs in the country and said that while he supported the bill to ultimately raise the debt ceiling, he is “not happy” with the terms in it. 

“Look, I supported the Biden-McCarthy deal, but I was not happy with it. The defense number is totally inadequate to meet the challenges that we have in Asia, not to mention, Ukraine,” he said. “I’m not sure at this point how to fix it, but it’s a problem.” 

McConnell acknowledged the divide between him and McCarthy on providing additional funding for Ukraine and whether Congress will provide it will be difficult.

“All I can tell you at this particular point is defense is radically underfunded, related to the Chinese threat. And Ukraine probably will need additional assistance. So figuring out how to do this is going to be a challenge,” he said. 

Biden will host NATO's secretary general at the White House Monday

President Joe Biden will welcome NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to the White House next Monday “to discuss the upcoming NATO summit,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Wednesday, confirming a statement from NATO earlier today. 

Biden and Stoltenberg “will review preparations for the summit, including the work to further strengthen allied deterrence and defense, build on the 2014 Wales Summit Defense Investment Pledge, and deepen NATO’s partnership,” she said. They will also discuss support for Ukraine “in the face of Russia’s brutal war of aggression.”

Stoltenberg’s visit comes just one week after Biden hosted Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, who is widely viewed as a potential contender to replace Stoltenberg, at the White House.

Biden is scheduled to attend the NATO summit in Lithuania in July.

Ukrainian prime minister appeals to UN and Red Cross to evacuate residents from Russian-occupied flood areas

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal attends a news conference following a bilateral meeting at the US Treasury Department Building in Washington, DC, on April 13.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal appealed Wednesday to leading international aid organizations to help evacuate residents in the flooded areas of the Russian-occupied Kherson region.

He claimed occupying Russian forces have offered “no help” following a devastating dam breach. 

Shmyhal addressed leaders of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a video message posted on Twitter, urging them to “act immediately”. 

“We appeal to you to take charge of evacuating people from the territories of Kherson oblast, occupied by Russia,” he said.  

Shmyhal said residents in occupied areas of the Kherson region “have been abandoned by the Russians” and “left to perish” as homes “vanish beneath the water.”  

UN humanitarian officials visited Kherson on Wednesday to “coordinate the humanitarian response” alongside local organizations and authorities, the body’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in a news release.  

Remember: Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the breach, which occurred in territory occupied by Russia. The cause remains unclear, and CNN analysis of satellite images shows the dam was damaged just days before it collapsed.

Zelensky discussed the situation in Kherson region following dam collapse with Macron

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed the current situation in Kherson region following the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse with French President Emmanuel Macron.

In a tweet, Zelensky said they spoke via phone Wednesday about “the environmental and humanitarian consequences of the Russian act of terrorism, and outlined the urgent needs of Ukraine to eliminate the disaster.“

“We discussed the possibility of using international mechanisms to investigate its causes,” Zelensky said.

“We agreed to continue defense cooperation, in particular to protect our skies. We look forward to the earliest possible start of training for Ukrainian pilots,” he added.

Macron said in a tweet following his call with Zelensky: “I expressed to President Zelensky my solidarity with the Ukrainian people after the attack on the Kakhovka dam. France condemns this atrocious act, which is endangering populations.”

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, in a video message Wednesday, appealed to the UN, International Red Cross and other bodies to help residents in flooded parts of Russian-occupied Kherson. 

Shmyhal said: “The Russian occupiers don’t even make an effort to help these people, they have left them to perish.”

Shmyhal said in another tweet that the World Bank will conduct a “rapid assessment of the damage and needs” caused by the dam incident.

UK announces additional funding for an international nuclear watchdog to support its work in Ukraine

IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi visits the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on March 29.

The UK will provide an additional 750,000 pounds (around $933,000) of funding to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to support its missions in Ukraine, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said in a statement Wednesday.

That brings UK’s total support to nuclear safety in Ukraine since the start of the war to 5 million pounds (more than $6.2 million), according to FCDO.

“Russia’s barbaric attacks on Ukraine’s civil infrastructure and its illegal control of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant runs contrary to all international nuclear safety and security norms. It claims to uphold nuclear safety standards, but its actions say otherwise,” said UK’s Permanent Representative to the IAEA Corinne Kitsell, who attended a meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors in Vienna on Wednesday. 

“I commend the work of the IAEA’s staff in Ukraine and I am pleased that the UK’s additional funding will help to facilitate its vital work, particularly given the additional risk posed by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam,” she said. 

At the meeting, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi presented the latest report on Nuclear Safety, Security and Safeguards in Ukraine, according to the statement. “The report outlined the state of nuclear safety at Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, and in particular the deeply concerning situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which relies on water from the Kakhovka dam for its cooling pond,” FCDO said. 

“The UK also echoes Ukraine’s calls for an uninterrupted power supply from Ukraine to Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and continues to call for the Russian Federation’s full withdrawal from the site, and for it to end its illegal war of aggression in Ukraine,” FCDO added.

Some background: Zaporizhzhia NPP, with six reactors, is the largest nuclear power station in Europe. It was mostly built in the Soviet era and became Ukrainian property after its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.

The power plant is located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in Ukraine. The area, and the nuclear complex, have been under Russian control since the beginning of the war, but the plant is still mostly operated by Ukrainian workers.

Ukraine launches "ecocide" and war crimes probe into Nova Kakhovka dam incident

 Ukraine is investigating the Nova Kakhovka dam incident as a war crime and as possible “ecocide,” or criminal environmental destruction, a statement from the Prosecutor General’s Office said Wednesday.

“The legal classification is ecocide and violation of the laws and customs of war… A specially created interagency and interregional group of investigators from the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police is working on the investigation,” the statement said.

Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin informed the Chinese ambassador to Ukraine, Fan Xianrong, of the proceedings in a meeting on Wednesday.

“Ukraine has initiated proceedings over this crime, qualifying it as a violation of the laws and customs of war and ecocide. It has caused severe long-term damage to people and the environment,” Kostin told him, according to a readout from the Prosecutor General’s Office. 

“The consequences are catastrophic. More than 40,000 people have been affected. Homes and infrastructure have been destroyed, land has become unsuitable for agriculture, and water supply has been disrupted in a number of regions, both in the government-controlled areas and in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia,” the readout added.

Ukraine’s Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine said Wednesday that the collapse of the dam was the largest act of ecocide that Russia has committed since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the breach, which occurred in territory occupied by Russia. The cause remains unclear, and CNN analysis of satellite images shows the dam was damaged just days before it collapsed.

Ukrainian foreign minister tells NATO chief Kyiv is seeking the best guarantee to avert future wars 

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Wednesday he held a call with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in July.

“By all accounts, it makes sense for Allies to take a decisive step toward Ukraine’s membership. We are not seeking NATO troops on the ground to end this war. We are seeking the best guarantee to avert future wars,” he tweeted after the call.

More on NATO: Last week, Stoltenberg reiterated previous remarks that all NATO allies “agree that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance,” it is just a matter of when.

Last month, the NATO chief said that he expects Ukraine will join the alliance when the war is over.

Ukrainian-controlled Kherson region evacuations ongoing after dam collapse, local officials say

Residents are evacuated from a flooded neighborhood in Kherson on June 7.

Evacuations in flooded areas are ongoing after the Nova Kakhovka dam’s collapse on Tuesday, officials in Ukrainian-controlled Kherson said.

The head of the Kherson region military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said: “We expect that the water will stay and accumulate for another day and then will gradually decrease for another 5 days.”

Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs said it is looking for ways to evacuate citizens from the occupied-eastern bank of the Dnipro River in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region.

Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko, who visited the region, said: “The evacuation works are ongoing. We are trying to do it as quickly as possible. We are hampered by a strong current and shelling by the Russian military.”

“The headquarters will work around the clock as long as necessary,” he said, adding “at the same time, we are working on the tasks we will face when the water goes away.”

“There is a lot of work to be done. First of all, it will concern environmental pollution. 150 tons of machine oil leaked out of the turbine room when the hydroelectric power plant was blown up,” Klymenko said.

As of 4 p.m. local time (9 a.m. ET), 1,854 people have been evacuated from Ukrainian-controlled areas of Kherson region, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said in an update.

Ammonia pipeline damaged in Kharkiv region 

The Russian Ministry of Defense released a statement on Wednesday accusing Ukraine of blowing up an ammonia pipeline in the Kharkiv region.

“On June 5, at about 21.00 Moscow time, in the area of ​​the village of Masiutivka, Kharkiv region, a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group undermined the Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline,” the Ministry of Defense said in a statement.

”As a result of this terrorist act, there are victims among the civilian population. They received the necessary medical care,” the statement said. 

What Ukraine says: Ukrainian officials have blamed Russian shelling for the damage. Oleh Syniehubov, head of the Kharkiv region military administration, first reported damage from shelling on Monday and said the pipeline had been damaged again on Tuesday. 

“Yesterday at about 17:45 the enemy shelled the ammonia pipeline in Kupyansk district again. A total of 6 incomings were recorded in the area of the pumping station near the village of Masiutivka. As of now, the results of the measurements show that there is no ammonia in the air in the settlements of Kupyansk district,” he wrote Wednesday on Telegram.

CNN cannot independently verify either claim. 

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said that it would take one to three months to repair the damaged Togliatti-Odesa ammonia pipeline during a press briefing. According to Zakharova, the ammonia pipeline was key to the Black Sea grain deal.

“The ammonia pipeline was one of the linchpins of the implementation of the agreements made in Istanbul on July 22. The pipeline was key to global food security,” Zakharova said during a news briefing on Wednesday.

Some context: According to the UN, the Black Sea Grain Initiative was launched by Russia, Turkey, Ukraine and United Nations as a mechanism for the safe exports of grain, related foodstuffs and fertilizer, including ammonia, from designated Ukrainian ports to global markets.

International NGO warns of landmine risk after Nova Kakhovka dam collapse

An aerial view of flooding in Kherson after the Nova Kakhovka dam breach on June 7.

The international humanitarian organization CARE cautioned that landmines are likely floating in the flood of water unleashed by the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in the southern Kherson region. 

“The area where the Kakhovka dam was is full of landmines, which are now floating in the water and are posing a huge risk,” Country Director at CARE Ukraine Fabrice Martin said in a statement.

Martin also noted “the catastrophic consequences” the dam breach could have on the environment. 

He said that oil had been released into the Dnipro River and warned that more could leak, echoing concerns that the head of Ukraine’s main hydropower generating company made in an interview with CNN on Tuesday

“At least 150 tons of oil have been released into the Dnipro River with the risk of further leakage of more than 300 tons,” Martin said. “This may lead to the Nyzhniodniprovskyi National Nature Park to disappear, which is more than 80,000 hectares of protected land.” 

Russians have done "more damage to themselves" with dam collapse, Ukrainian deputy defense minister says

Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said with the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam “the Russians have actually done more damage to themselves and their armed forces.”

Mailar said the incident has damaged Russian fortifications and military positions. 

Speaking on national TV, Mailar said: “Basically, the territory that is now under the control of the aggressor will be more affected.”

“The territories of their military units are also flooded. And there is a problem with mines there now, because mines have floated away. The situation is absolutely uncontrollable now,” she added.

“Yesterday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that their actions and plans would not be affected,” she added.

Dam collapse won't affect Ukrainian counteroffensive, former president says

Ukraine's former president, Petro Poroshenko, is pictured during the European Economic Congress in Katowice, Poland, on April 24.

Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s former president told CNN Wednesday that the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse in the Kherson region is a “catastrophe” for Ukraine. He said, “We are hit in the heart, and this is the biggest man-made catastrophe in the 21st century.”

Speaking from Kyiv, Poroshenko told CNN’s Kate Bolduan that artillery trucks will be heading to the south to the brigade that is now in the “process for finishing preparation for the counteroffensive operation.”

He said it’s possible the dam disaster was created by Russia to stop a counteroffensive, but Ukrainian troops would not be stopped from carrying it out. He added that it’s creating a disaster for the civilians but not for the troops. “Nothing can stop Ukrainian troops,” he said.

Looking at his watch, Poroshenko said the counteroffensive “will start within hours,” adding “within hours, not days, but hours.” CNN cannot independently verify this.

What Ukraine’s allies are saying: US and Western officials see signs that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia is beginning and have noted a “substantial increase in fighting” in the east of the country over the last 48 hours as Ukrainian troops probe for weaknesses in Russian defensive lines, a senior NATO official said on Tuesday.

Some more context: A major dam and hydroelectric power plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine was destroyed early Tuesday, prompting mass evacuations and fears for large-scale devastation as Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other. Ukraine accused Moscow’s forces of committing an act of “ecocide.” The Kremlin denied involvement and accused Ukraine of “deliberate sabotage” of the dam.

The dam is a critical piece of infrastructure: It supplies water for much of southeastern Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and the Crimean peninsula.

CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Alex Marquardt, Jim Sciutto and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this post.

Putin discusses Ukraine and upcoming summit in call with South African president

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Russian President Vladimir Putin are pictured during the Russia-Africa Summit in Sochi, Russia, in October 2019.

Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the Ukrainian conflict in a telephone conversation with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday, according to the Kremlin.

Putin and Ramaphosa “discussed issues related to the well-known African initiative to find ways to resolve the Ukrainian conflict,” the Kremlin readout said. 

Additionally, the two leaders talked about preparations for the upcoming Russia-Africa summit in July and the BRICS summit in August and agreed that Putin would soon receive a delegation of African heads of state to discuss potential solutions.

The readout did not mention if the topic of the International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant on Putin was touched upon.

While Putin’s attendance at the BRICS summit (an international relations conference attended by officials of member states Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) remains uncertain, South Africa issued diplomatic immunity to all officials attending the summit in August, which would allow Putin to travel to the country despite the ICC warrant for his arrest.

New report: Russia’s war in Ukraine is undermining global efforts to tackle the climate crisis

The war in Ukraine has brought an enormous human toll: Thousands of civilians have been killed, millions have been forced to flee overseas, it has destroyed homes, schools and hospitals. But beyond the immediate, visceral impacts, the conflict is also causing a climate disaster at a time when the world is already struggling to meet climate goals, according to a new report.

A team of carbon accounting experts evaluated the climate impact of the first year of the conflict, which started in February 2022.

They found that a total of 120 million metric tons of planet-heating pollution can be attributed to the first 12 months of the war, according to the report published Wednesday. That’s equivalent to the annual emissions of Belgium, or those produced by nearly 27 million gas-powered cars on the road for a year.

“It’s the first time that the emissions of a war have been mapped on such a comprehensive scale,” Lennard de Klerk, the report’s lead author and an expert in war-related emissions, told CNN.

The report, titled Climate Damage Caused by Russia’s War in Ukraine, follows on from a first interim assessment presented at the UN COP27 climate conference in November 2022.

Read more about this here.

US ambassador to China hopes Beijing makes "the right choice" to push Russia to end war in Ukraine

US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns is pictured during the World Peace Forum in Beijing, China, in July 2022.

US Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns expressed hope Wednesday that China “will make the right choice” on pushing Russia to end the war in Ukraine.

“We hope very much that they will make the right choice, but the right choice for China is going to push Russia to adhere to international law, withdraw its troops and see the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine restored,” Burns said virtually at an event from the US Global Leadership Coalition on Wednesday.

“That’s what the world wants and expects. I think the jury’s out. I can’t predict what the government of the People’s Republic will do. But that’s what we’re obviously standing for, and they know our position,” he added.

Burns said he recently met with the Chinese envoy who traveled to Ukraine, Li Hui.

Some background: China has refused to condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine or call for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine’s territory.

A vaguely worded 12-point position paper on China’s vision for the “political settlement” of the conflict, released earlier this year, said the “legitimate security concerns” of “all countries” should be be addressed. It also said the “sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity” of all countries must be upheld.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to travel to China in the coming weeks, two US officials and a source familiar with the matter told CNN. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Sunday that US President Joe Biden will “at some point” meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping as well.

Turkish president calls Zelensky and Putin to propose a commission to investigate dam collapse

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is pictured making a statement to the press on June 6, in Ankara, Turkey.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed in separate phone calls Wednesday to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin to establish an international commission to investigate the dam damage in the Kherson region. 

President Erdogan stated in both calls that an international commission could be established with the participation of experts from the warring parties, the United Nations, and the international community, including Turkey, for a detailed investigation into the “explosion” at the Nova Kakhovka dam, according to a statement made by the Turkish presidency’s Directorate of Communications. 

During the separate calls with both leaders, President Erdogan stated that it is important to carry out a comprehensive investigation “that leaves no room for suspicion.”

On the call with Erdogan, Putin accused Ukraine of committing terrorist acts.

“A clear example of this is the barbaric action to destroy the [Kakhovka] hydroelectric power station in the Kherson region, which led to a large-scale environmental and humanitarian catastrophe,” according to a Kremlin readout of the call.

Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the dam breach, which occurred in territory occupied by Russia. The cause remains unclear, and CNN analysis of satellite images shows the dam was damaged just days before it collapsed.

Some more context: A major dam and hydroelectric power plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine was destroyed early Tuesday, prompting mass evacuations and fears for large-scale devastation as Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other. Ukraine accused Moscow’s forces of committing an act of “ecocide.” The Kremlin denied involvement and accused Ukraine of “deliberate sabotage” of the dam.

The dam is a critical piece of infrastructure: It supplies water for much of southeastern Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and the Crimean peninsula.

In photos: Collapse of major dam inundates neighborhoods in parts of the Kherson region

The Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine collapsed early Tuesday, forcing thousands to flee their homes and threatening vital water supplies as flooding threatened parts of the southern Kherson region.

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.

Local resident Tetiana holds her pets, Tsatsa and Chunya, as she stands inside her flooded house after the destruction of the dam. 
A flooded neighborhood is seen in Kherson, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 7, after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam.
People are seen in and on top of an army truck as emergency responders work during evacuations following the Nova Kakhovka dam breach. 

See more photos from the aftermath of the dam collapse here.

Thousands of hectares on both banks of Dnipro are expected to flood, Ukraine says

Ten thousand hectares of agricultural land are expected to flood after the Nova Kakhovka dam collapsed, according to the Ukrainian Agricultural Ministry.

The figure only accounts for the Ukraine-controlled part of the area, which is the right side of the bank, the ministry said, adding that it would be “several times more on the left bank.”

The collapse could turn fields in southern Ukraine “into deserts,” the ministry added.

The following areas are “without a source of water” after the collapse, according to the ministry: 

  • 94% of irrigation systems in Kherson
  • 74% in Zaporizhzhia
  • 30% Dnipropetrovsk regions

Exclusive: Ukrainian troops witnessed Russian soldiers swept away in dam breach floodwaters

A satellite image shows the damaged Nova Kakhovka dam on June 6.

Ukrainian troops witnessed Russian soldiers being swept up in floodwaters and fleeing the east bank of the Dnipro River after the collapse of the Nova Khakovka dam, an officer in Ukraine’s armed forces said. Many Russian troops were killed or wounded in the chaos, according to the officer. 

Capt. Andrei Pidlisnyi said when the dam collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday morning “no one on the Russian side was able to get away. All the regiments the Russians had on that side were flooded.” 

Pidlisnyi told CNN he believed the Russians had deliberately attacked the dam to disrupt Ukrainian forces’ plans for an upcoming offensive. 

“Around 3 a.m., the enemy blew up the Kakhovka Hydro Power Plant in order to raise the water level to flood the approaches and the left bank of the Dnipro River, as well as the settlements located there. And to make it impossible for the Ukrainian armed forces to advance in the future,” he claimed.

Pidlisnyi explained that the lay of the land around the river meant that Russia’s military — located on the east bank — suffered serious impacts in the dam’s breach. His unit was able to watch the events unfold through the use of drones and troops on the scene.

“The left [east] bank is lower than the right bank, so it is more flooded. The enemy’s positions right on the riverbank were also flooded. You need to understand that the enemy’s positions are not only trenches but also ordinary civilian houses where they lived,” Pidlisnyi said.

The Russian units in harm’s way may not have been warned, possibly to maintain the element of surprise, Pidlisnyi said.

Pointing blame: Ukraine’s government has echoed Pidlisnyi’s contention that Russia deliberately blew up the dam, while the Kremlin has said it was Kyiv’s forces that carried out an attack. 

In fact, evidence to conclusively support either side’s claim is yet to emerge, while analysis of videos of the dam, and its subsequent breach, and in particular examination of satellite imagery, suggest the collapse could have been the result of structural failure since the Russians occupied the dam in March last year.

War is ever-present in Kherson as search and rescue operations continue after dam collapse

Residents stand on an embankment of the flooded Dnipro river as smoke rises from shelling on the opposite bank, in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 6.

More than 24 hours after the breach of the Nova Kakhovka dam, the search and rescue operation in Kherson remains in full swing.  

Authorities and volunteers continue to use wooden boats and rubber dinghies to evacuate people — and a large number of cats and dogs — who were left stranded as water levels have continued to rise overnight.

They have been working relentlessly since the city started to flood and now, exhausted and overwhelmed, are very much a facet of this tragedy.

The people coming off the boats are visibly shaken by the ordeal — some breaking down into tears as they finally reach dry land. The animals also seem in distress. The constant howling and meowing echo through the scene as operations continue.

Some areas that were accessible on foot on Tuesday are now completely underwater — in some locations, the water is up to four meters (13 feet) deep. There is, however, a sense from authorities that water levels, although still rising, are now doing so at a slower pace.

As the humanitarian crisis continues to unravel before our eyes, the war is ever-present and Kherson remains very much a frontline city. 

Outgoing and incoming artillery — rocket, mortars, etc — could be heard every hour throughout the day on Tuesday and then through the night and into Wednesday morning.

Shelling seems to have calmed down in the past few hours, but sporadic fire is still heard in the distance.

The Ukrainian government nonetheless promising the rumbles of war will not impact search and rescue operations.

“We have to keep going even if the shelling is ongoing as you can hear,” interim interior minister Ihor Klymenko told journalists at the scene, as artillery fired off in the distance.
“Our people have the necessary protective equipment.”

 No respite, no truce even amidst the tragedy.

Dam collapse prompts Ukraine to evacuate more than 1,500 people. Here's what you need to know 

An elderly woman is evacuated from a flooded area in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 7.

At least seven people are missing following the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam on Tuesday, the occupied town’s Moscow-appointed mayor told Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti on Wednesday. 

Ukraine, meanwhile, says it has evacuated more than 1,500 people from Ukrainian-controlled flooded Kherson areas. Authorities added in a post on Telegram that “20 settlements on the west bank of the Dnipro River and more than 1,900 houses were flooded in Kherson region.”

Below are the latest developments:

  • Ecological catastrophe: The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine has sparked fears of an ecological catastrophe, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky describing the situation as “an environmental bomb of mass destruction.” Water levels on Wednesday continued to rise after the Russian-occupied dam and hydro-electric power plant collapsed early Tuesday, forcing more than 1,400 people to flee their homes and threatening vital water supplies as flooding inundated towns, cities and farmland.
  • China “concerned”: China is “seriously concerned” about the collapse of the dam, the country’s foreign ministry spokesperson said Wednesday. “We are seriously concerned about the Kakhovka dam destruction. We are deeply worried about the humanitarian, economic and ecological impacts caused by it,” Wang Wenbin said in a daily briefing. Wang added that Beijing hopes that all parties will commit to a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine and work together to promote a de-escalation of the situation. 
  • Access to water: Zelensky said the collapse of the dam has left “hundreds of thousands of people without normal access to drinking water.” In a statement posted on Telegram, Zelensky also said that prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, either side of the banks of the Dnipro River was home to “at least 100,000 people” but since the war that number has fallen to “tens of thousands.”
  • Belgorod shelling: Ukrainian forces carried out heavy shelling of Russia’s Belgorod region overnight, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram Wednesday. According to Gladkov, the shelling targeted several areas in the border region of Belgorod, including Shebekino. “460 units of various ammunition were fired in the Shebekino urban district, 26 drops of explosive devices from UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were recorded,” Gladkov wrote, adding that in the town of Shebekino strikes were carried out mainly on residential areas.

Ukrainian police say they have received 3 missing people calls in Kherson region

The roof of a house is seen in the flooded Dnipro river in Kherson, Ukraine on June 6.

Ukrainian police say they have received three calls regarding missing persons in the Kherson region flooding as a result of the burst dam upstream.

Writing on Telegram the Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Leonid Tymchenko said, “As of this morning, we have received three calls to the 102 line regarding people who went missing under special circumstances in the Kherson region.”

On the Russian-controlled side of the river, the Russian-installed mayor of Kherson said that he is aware of at least seven people being missing. 

Some context: There are multiple towns and cities downstream, including Kherson, a city of some 300,000 people before Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.

Between 35 and 80 settlements were expected to be flooded due to the breach, Zelensky said, and aid efforts are ongoing to get drinking water, hygiene kits and other supplies to affected neighborhoods.

In the low lying districts of Kherson, a CNN team on the ground saw residents evacuated from their homes carrying their possessions and pets in their arms as rising floodwaters penetrated one city block in less than an hour.

As the area is on the front lines of the conflict, the rising water brings with it an added danger of mine and explosive ordnance contamination.

Both Moscow and Kyiv noted the humanitarian and environmental consequences, while blaming each other for the dam’s collapse. CNN has not been able to establish either claim.

Bakhmut sector "remains epicenter of hostilities" in Ukraine, says Ukrainian deputy defense minister

Fighting around Bakhmut “remains the epicenter of hostilities,” Ukraine’s deputy defense minister said Wednesday. 

Speaking on Telegram, Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces have made gains ranging from 200 meters (656 feet) in some areas to 1,100 meters (3,609 feet) in others, but did not say where exactly. 

Maliar also noted that Wagner fighters had largely withdrawn, noting they “remain in some places in the rear” and the large majority of the fighting is now being conducted by regular units of the Russian Federation, including airborne units.

The head of the Wagner military group in Ukraine, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accused Russia of sabotaging his withdrawal from Bakhmut last week, claiming exit routes were mined.

Some context: Bakhmut sits toward the northeast of the Donetsk region, about 13 miles from the Luhansk region, and had long been a target for Russian forces. Since last summer the city has been a stone’s throw from the front lines.

Last month, Russian forces said they had finally captured the embattled eastern city. It followed a months-long slog where Russian soldiers had to grind for every inch of territory.

Zelensky says “hundreds of thousands” left without drinking water after dam's collapse

Flooding is pictured in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 6.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam has left “hundreds of thousands of people without normal access to drinking water.”

In a statement posted on Telegram, Zelensky said that prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, either side of the banks of the Dnipro River were home to “at least 100,000 people” but since the war that number has fallen to “tens of thousands.”

The collapse of the dam has now led to more evacuations from the Russian-occupied Kherson region.

In a statement on Telegram, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, said more than 1,400 people were also evacuated across the Kherson region, while more than 1,800 houses on the west bank of the Dnipro River have flooded.

This comes after Russian-installed mayor of Kherson claimed that seven people are currently missing, while Ukrainian troops say they witnessed Russian soldiers being swept up in floodwaters.

Meanwhile, 300 zoo animals died Tuesday after the collapse of the dam, according to the Ukrainian defense ministry .

Both Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the breach of the dam. CNN has not been able to verify these claims.

Russia’s Belgorod region heavily shelled from Ukraine overnight, regional governor says

Ukrainian forces carried out heavy shelling of Russia’s Belgorod region overnight, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram Wednesday.

According to Gladkov, the shelling targeted several areas in the border region of Belgorod, including Shebekino. 

“460 units of various ammunition were fired in the Shebekino urban district, 26 drops of explosive devices from UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were recorded,” Gladkov wrote, adding that in the town of Shebekino strikes were carried out mainly on residential areas.

Galdkov added that the villages of Zhuravlyovka, Tsapovka, Stary, and Kozinka also came under fire, with no reported injuries.

Some context: Russia has seen the effects of its war on Ukraine increasingly reverberate back onto its own territory in recent months.

Belgorod has seen a series of drone attacks. Last week, a “massive” shelling attack injured four people in the region. Eight apartment buildings, four homes, a school and two administrative buildings were damaged during the shelling in Shebekino, a village in the border region of Belgorod.

A drone attack was also launched on Russia’s Bryansk region last Wednesday, state news agency RIA Novosti reported. About 10 drones tried to attack the Klimovsky district and were shot down or intercepted, RIA reported citing emergency services.

Ukraine evacuates more than 1,500 people from flooded Kherson areas

People are evacuated from flooded areas in Kherson, Ukraine on June 7.

Some 1,548 people had been evacuated from Ukrainian controlled flooded areas of the Kherson region by 11:30 a.m. local time, the State Emergency Services and National Police of Ukraine confirmed Wednesday.

Thousands have been evacuated and there are fears of an ecological catastrophe after the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power plant collapsed on Tuesday.

Authorities added in a post on Telegram that “20 settlements on the west bank of the Dnipro River and more than 1,900 houses were flooded in Kherson region.”

The operation to save people has involved 1,700 workers, 300 pieces of equipment and 33 water vessels.

One of the pieces of equipment used in the rescue was the “Bohun” all terrain vehicle that can move freely through water and mud.

Some context: Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations over the 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, however, said Russia bears “criminal liability” and Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the dam incident as a case of “ecocide.”

Concerns are now turning to the dangers to wildlife, farmlands, settlements and water supplies from the floodwaters and possible contamination from industrial chemicals and oil leaked from the hydropower plant into the Dnipro River.

Russian appointed official claims Ukraine “harmed themselves” with dam's collapse

The Russian-installed mayor of the occupied Kherson region has claimed Ukrainians have “harmed themselves” with the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power plant along the Dnipro River.

Both Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the breach of the dam.

CNN has not been able to establish what caused the dam to collapse and it remains unclear whether the dam was deliberately attacked or if the collapse was the result of structural failure.

Speaking on Russian state TV, Vladimir Saldo claimed the incident will benefit the Russian military.

He went to say this was contrary to the “expectation that blowing up the dam will give some strategic or even operational advantage to the AFU (Armed Forces of Ukraine).”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claims that Russia bears “criminal liability” and that Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the dam incident as a case of “ecocide.”

Saldo went on to claim that according to “preliminary forecasts” between 22,000 and 40,000 people were in the disaster zone. He added that the seven people who may be missing could be on the islands further down stream but will only be able to confirm that once they have access to these areas.

China is "seriously concerned" about the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam

Flooded streets are seen in Kherson, Ukraine, on Wednesday, June 7.

China is “seriously concerned” about the collapse of Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka dam, the country’s foreign ministry spokesman said Wednesday.

“We are seriously concerned about the Kakhovka dam destruction. We are deeply worried about the humanitarian, economic and ecological impacts caused by it,” Wang Wenbin said in a daily briefing.

Wang added that Beijing hopes that all parties will commit to a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine and work together to promote a de-escalation of the situation. 

“We call on all parties concerned in the conflicts to follow international humanitarian law and to do their utmost to protect the safety of civilians and civil facility,” Wang said. 

Meanwhile, the European Union yesterday condemned the incident as “a new dimension of Russian atrocities.”

Some context: Thousands of people have been evacuated and there are fears of an ecological catastrophe after the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power plant collapsed on Tuesday.

Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations over the 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, however, said Russia bears “criminal liability” and Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the dam incident as a case of “ecocide.”

Concerns are now turning to the dangers to wildlife, farmlands, settlements and water supplies from the floodwaters and possible contamination from industrial chemicals and oil leaked from the hydropower plant into the Dnipro River.

Fears of ecological catastrophe following collapse of Ukraine's Nova Kakhovka dam

The House of Culture on a flooded street in Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson Region, on June 6.

The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine has sparked fears of an ecological catastrophe, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky describing the situation as “an environmental bomb of mass destruction.”

Water levels on Wednesday continued to rise after the Russian-occupied dam and hydro-electric power plant was destroyed early Tuesday, forcing more than 1,400 people to flee their homes and threatening vital water supplies as flooding inundated towns, cities and farmland.

Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations over the 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. 

Zelensky, however, said Russia bears “criminal liability” and Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the dam incident as a case of “ecocide.”

Concerns are now turning to the dangers to wildlife, farmlands, settlements and water supplies from the floodwaters and possible contamination from industrial chemicals and oil leaked from the hydropower plant into the Dnipro River.

The head of Ukraine’s main hydropower generating company told CNN the environmental consequences from the breach will be “significant” and damaged equipment at the plant could be leaking oil.

“First of all, the Kakhovka reservoir is likely to be drained to zero, and we understand that the number of fish will gradually go down,” said Ihor Syrota, the CEO of Ukrhydroenergo.
“Four-hundred tons of turbine oil is always there, in the units and in the block transformers that are usually installed on this equipment,” Syrota said. “It all depends on the level of destruction of the units and this equipment… If the damage is extensive, then all the oil will leak out.”

Read the full story here.

At least 7 missing after dam collapse, Russia-backed official tells state media

At least seven people are missing following the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam on Tuesday, the occupied town’s Moscow-appointed mayor told Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti. 

“We are clarifying the information on the missing people now,” Vladimir Leontiev said Wednesday, according to RIA. “We know about seven people for sure.”

Earlier on Wednesday, Leontiev said 900 people had been evacuated so far and the water levels in Nova Kakhovka were decreasing after the dam’s collapse caused extensive flooding.

Russian Foreign Ministry blames collapse of Nova Kakhovka dam on Ukrainian forces

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov speaks during a news conference in Bujumbura, Burundi, on Tuesday, May 30.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday accused Ukrainian forces of causing the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, echoing earlier comments from the Kremlin.

In a statement, the ministry said the dam’s destruction had “led to a devastating humanitarian and environmental disaster,” adding that huge impacts would be felt on the ecosystems along the Dnipro River.  

Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of being behind the dam’s collapse, although it is not clear whether the facility was deliberately attacked or if the breach was the result of structural failure. 

On Tuesday, the Kremlin called the incident an act of “sabotage by the Kiev regime.” 

The Russian Foreign Ministry statement went further, claiming that Ukraine had launched “mass artillery attacks” against the dam and “deliberately brought the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir to a critical level by opening the Dneprovsk Hydroelectric Power Plant’s floodgates.” 

CNN analysis found the water levels in the reservoir behind the dam were at record highs last month, according to the Hydroweb information service. Levels had plummeted earlier in the year, the same data shows, prompting Ukrainian officials in February to warn of possible shortages in drinking water supplies, and water for agricultural use. 

Ukrainian view: On Tuesday, a Ukrainian lawmaker told CNN “only” Russia could have caused the dam to collapse as the facility is located in Russian-occupied territory. Inna Sovsun, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, said the dam’s collapse had drawn Ukrainian military personnel away from a potential counteroffensive.

1 killed in Russian shelling of Kherson, Ukrainian military says

Russian strikes hit residential areas, killing one person and wounding another over the past day in Kherson, according to Ukrainian authorities, as the southern region reels from flooding brought by the collapse of a major dam.

“Russian occupiers fired 70 times at civilian settlements in Kherson region,” the Kherson regional military administration said. “They fired 353 shells from artillery, mortars, MLRS, tanks, drones and aircraft.”

The frontline city of Kherson was shelled nine times, the administration added.

More than 1,400 people have been evacuated in Kherson as of early Wednesday following the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam on Tuesday, according to the administration.

Earlier Wednesday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine said a number of civilians had been killed and injured in Russian strikes on Ukraine over the past day.

Water levels falling in Nova Kakhovka, Russia-installed official says

Water flows strongly through a breakthrough in the Kakhovka dam in Kakhovka, Ukraine, on Tuesday, June 6.

Water levels in the occupied town of Nova Kakhovka have fallen 35 centimeters (nearly 14 inches) from the height of the flooding as of early Wednesday following the nearby dam’s collapse, a Moscow-backed official said.

Vladimir Leontiev, the Russia-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka, said hundreds of people had been evacuated in the town.

“Yesterday about 900 people were moved from the flooded areas to safe places,” Leontiev said. “We are confident that today will bring quite a lot of calming, positive news.”

Remember: Leontiev on Tuesday initially denied information about the dam collapsing in an interview with Russian state media, calling it “nonsense.” He later performed a U-turn, confirming the destruction of parts of the dam in what he called “a serious terrorist act,” though he claimed at the time there was “no need to evacuate.”

More than 1,400 people evacuated in Kherson after dam collapse, Ukrainian official says

Rescue workers help residents to evacuate from a flooded neighborhood in Kherson, Ukraine on June 6.

More than 1,400 people have been evacuated in the Kherson region as of early Wednesday following the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, a Ukrainian military official said.

In a statement on Telegram, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson regional military administration, said more than 1,800 houses on the west bank of the Dnipro River have flooded.

According to a CNN team on the ground on Tuesday, water had spread across several blocks and into the center of Kherson city, cutting off some areas entirely.

Prokudin said Wednesday the water level is expected to rise by another meter (3.2 feet) over the next 20 hours.

Local residents react after evacuating from a flooded area in Kherson, Ukraine on June 6.

Floodwaters damage bridges in Mykolaiv region after dam's collapse, Ukrainian official says

Flooding has damaging critical infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern Mykolaiv region following the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in neighboring Kherson on Tuesday, a Ukrainian official said.

Ivan Kukhta, head of the Snihurivka town military administration in Mykolaiv, said a bridge in Yelyzavetivka village is destroyed, and another in Halahanivka village is “completely flooded.”

Kukhta said authorities are evacuating residents from a number of homes in Snihurivka.

The dam’s collapse has prompted mass evacuations and fears of large-scale devastation as Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the incident.

"Only" Russians could have caused Kherson dam to collapse, Ukrainian lawmaker says

Inna Sovsun speaks in Kyiv, Ukraine on February 16, 2021.

Inna Sovsun, a member of Ukraine’s parliament, on Tuesday blamed Russia for the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, claiming it was part of Moscow’s efforts to prevent a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

“The explosion came from within, so it had to be done by someone who had control over the territory, and those are the Russians,” Sovsun told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
“They are the only ones who could have actually done this,” she added. “We do not have access to the territory now and we did not have access to the territory yesterday to set up such an explosion.”

Kyiv and Moscow have both blamed each other for the breach of the dam and hydroelectric power plant in a Russian-occupied area of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region. However, it remains unclear what caused the breach. A CNN analysis of satellite imagery shows the facility was damaged just days before suffering the structural collapse.

Sovsun said the dam’s collapse had drawn Ukrainian military personnel away from a potential counteroffensive amid mass evacuations and fears of large-scale devastation.

“People who could have been engaged in the counteroffensive efforts are now doing evacuation, are now helping with humanitarian aid,” she said.

Some context: US and Western officials see signs that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia is beginning and have noted a “substantial increase in fighting” in the east of the country as Ukrainian troops probe for weaknesses in Russian defensive lines, a senior NATO official said on Tuesday. But the destruction of the dam could complicate some of Ukraine’s plans, officials told CNN.

Civilians killed after Russian strikes, Ukraine's military says

A number of people have been killed and wounded in Russian strikes on Ukraine over the past day, the Armed Forces of Ukraine said early Wednesday.

The military said all 35 missiles launched by Russia had been destroyed by Ukrainian air defenses.

“The enemy also launched 41 airstrikes and fired 57 MLRS salvos,” the military said, adding that damage occurred to residential buildings and civilian infrastructure.

It's early morning in Kherson, where a major dam collapsed yesterday. Here's what you should know

A satellite image shows damaged Nova Kakhovka Dam in Kherson region, Ukraine, June 6.

A critical dam and hydroelectric power plant in the Russian-occupied southern Kherson region of Ukraine suffered a collapse early Tuesday.

A UN aid chief said the breach of the Nova Kakhovka dam is possibly the “most significant incident of damage to civilian infrastructure” since the start of Russia’s invasion.

The incident has prompted mass evacuations, flooding and fears of large-scale devastation. According to the Nova Kakhovka zoo, 300 animals died Tuesday in the collapse’s aftermath.

Ukrainian troops witnessed Russian soldiers being swept up in floodwaters and fleeing the east bank of the Dnipro River after the collapse, an officer in Ukraine’s armed forces said. Many Russian troops were killed or wounded, the officer said. 

Here’s what you should know to get up to speed:

  • Pointing fingers: Both Kyiv and Moscow accused each other of being behind the major breach of the dam, although it is unclear whether the dam was deliberately attacked or if the collapse was the result of structural failure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the collapse as “an environmental bomb of mass destruction” while the Russian Foreign Ministry said it was caused by an “act of sabotage” by Ukraine. Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said Russia’s war in Ukraine is responsible for the catastrophic damage following the breach.
  • Dam collapse aftermath: In a frontline city like Kherson — where the shelling is constant — the rising water brings an added danger. USAID said it is working closely with humanitarian partners to assist those impacted by flooding. Several Ukrainian regions that get some of their water supply from the dam’s reservoir are making efforts to conserve water. British intelligence agencies are investigating the collapse, Prime Minster Rishi Sunak said Tuesday, according to the UK’s PA Media. And according to Ukraine’s state nuclear regulatory inspectorate, problems due to the collapse can be avoided at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant if “necessary measures are taken.”
  • Funding aid to Ukraine: Michael McCaul, House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman, said he believes Congress will pass more funding for Ukraine, despite Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s warning that more funding for the war must fall under the budget caps in the new debt ceiling law. Also, Ukraine is waiting for final agreements with its allies on the delivery of F-16 jets, Zelensky told journalists on Tuesday.
  • Nord Stream developments: The US received intelligence from a European ally last year that the Ukrainian military was planning an attack on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines three months before they were hit, three US officials told CNN. The attack on the pipelines last September has been condemned by US officials and Western allies alike as a sabotage on critical infrastructure. It is currently being investigated by other European nations.

Nova Kakhovka dam collapse means added danger for embattled city of Kherson, official says

A house in a flooded area is seen in Kherson on June 6.

Nadejda Chernishova breathes a sigh of relief as she steps off a rubber dinghy, moments after being rescued from her flooded home in Kherson.

“I’m not afraid now, but it was scary in my home,” the 65-year-old retiree said. “You don’t know where the water is going, and it was coming from all sides.”

Her house in one of the lower lying districts of Kherson was flooded after the Nova Kakhovka dam, 58 kilometers (36 miles) up the Dnipro River in Russian-occupied Ukraine, was destroyed earlier on Tuesday.

Chernishova left most of her small world behind, bringing only what she was able to muster: two suitcases and her most prized possession.

“This is my cat Sonechka, a beauty,” she said, lifting the lid of a small her pet carrier and revealing a frightened animal. “She is scared, she is a domestic cat who has never been outside.”

Chernishova is one of hundreds being evacuated by Ukrainian authorities in Kherson, where the water has spread across several blocks and into the center of the city, cutting off some areas entirely.

“Civilians are being evacuated from the Karobel district. More than 1,200 people have already been evacuated from this area [on Tuesday],” the head of Kherson region military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin told CNN at the scene.

Prokudin, who has been overseeing rescue efforts in towns and cities downstream from Nova Kakhovka, said the operation has become more difficult with time as flood waters continue to rise.

“If in the morning we could do it with cars, then with trucks, now we see that big cars can no longer pass,” he explained. “The water has risen so much that we are now using boats. About eight boats of various types are currently working to evacuate people from the area.”

CNN witnessed the speed at which the waters kept rising, with the water penetrating one block into the city in less than an hour. The flow of water visibly increasing to the naked eye.

Read more here.

Dam collapse possibly the most significant damage to civilian infrastructure since start of war, UN says

The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam is possibly the “most significant incident of damage to civilian infrastructure” since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, according to Martin Griffiths, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.

The dam is a lifeline in the region as a critical water source for millions of people in Kherson as well as Dnipro and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, he said, and a key source of agricultural irrigation in southern Kherson and the Crimean peninsula — impacting farming and food production.

Griffiths added that a severe impact is expected in Russian-occupied areas where humanitarian agencies are still struggling to gain access.

The UN aid chief, speaking to the Security Council on Tuesday, also highlighted the danger fast-moving water poses to the risks of mine and explosive ordnance contamination, displacing the projectiles to areas previously assessed as safe.

Griffiths pointed out the impact the dam’s collapse will have on electricity generation and the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

“The damage caused by the dam’s destruction means that life will become intolerably harder for those already suffering from the conflict,” Griffiths said, “The consequences of not being able to deliver assistance to the millions of people affected by the flooding in these areas are potentially catastrophic.”

Satellite images show Nova Kakhovka dam was damaged days before collapse

The Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine on May 28, 2023.

The critical Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was damaged just days before suffering a major structural collapse in the late evening of Monday or early hours of Tuesday, a CNN analysis reveals. 

CNN cannot independently verify whether the damage to the road bridge played a part in the dam’s collapse, or whether it was destroyed in a deliberate attack by one of the warring parties.

Satellite imagery from Maxar shows the road bridge that ran across the dam was intact on May 28, but imagery from June 5 shows a section of the same bridge missing. Analysis of lower resolution satellite imagery suggests the loss of the bridge section took place between June 1 and 2. 

Some background: Meanwhile, data shows water levels in the reservoir behind the dam were at record highs last month, according to the Hydroweb information service. Levels had plummeted earlier in the year, the same data shows, prompting Ukrainian officials in February to warn of possible shortages in drinking water supplies, and water for agricultural use. 

US and Western officials see signs Ukraine's counteroffensive is beginning

US and Western officials see signs that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia is beginning and have noted a “substantial increase in fighting” in the east of the country over the past 48 hours as Ukrainian troops probe for weaknesses in Russian defensive lines, a senior NATO official said on Tuesday.

While preliminary attacks, also known as “shaping” operations, have been underway for at least two weeks, Ukrainian forces have in the past several days begun testing Russian positions with artillery strikes and ground attacks to find vulnerable areas they can break through, the NATO official and a senior European military intelligence official told CNN.

The destruction of a sprawling dam in Ukraine’s Russian-occupied Kherson region, which triggered a wave of evacuations on Tuesday as floods of water spilled from the Nova Kakhovka hydro-electric plant, could complicate some of Ukraine’s plans, officials told CNN.

The dam’s destruction could now make it more difficult for Ukrainian troops to cross the Dnipro River and attack Russian positions there, said two Western officials. And the dam’s collapse has already created a significant humanitarian challenge into which the Ukrainian government will need to address and funnel resources.

“Anything that may have been planned downstream from the dam probably has to be replanned,” a European ambassador in Washington said. “Ultimately, the water levels will recede, but most likely, the catastrophic flooding has impacted the bridges and roads in the area, so they may not be usable in the way as planned before.”

The US and the Western intelligence community are still examining who is responsible for the dam’s destruction, but officials are leaning toward Russia as the culprit, the official said.

Read more here.

US received intel that Ukraine was planning attack on Nord Stream pipelines, officials say

The US received intelligence from a European ally last year that the Ukrainian military was planning an attack on the Nord Stream natural gas pipelines three months before they were hit, three US officials told CNN.

The attack on the pipelines last September has been condemned by US officials and Western allies alike as a sabotage on critical infrastructure. It is currently being investigated by other European nations.

The intelligence assessment was first disclosed by The Washington Post, which obtained the document from a trove of classified documents allegedly leaked on the social media platform Discord by Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira.

CNN has not seen the document but the three officials confirmed the US was told about the Ukrainian plans.

According to the Washington Post, the intelligence cited a source in Ukraine which said Western allies “had a basis to suspect Kyiv in the sabotage” for almost a year. The intelligence said that those who may have been responsible were reporting directly to Ukraine’s commander in chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, “who was put in charge so that Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, wouldn’t know about the operation,” the Post reported.

But, the intelligence also said that Ukraine’s military operation was “put on hold.”

CNN has reached out to the Ukrainian government for comment.

White House National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby declined to address the reporting directly on Tuesday.

“I think you know there are three countries conducting an investigation of the Nord Stream sabotage — and we called it sabotage at the moment — Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. Those investigations are ongoing and again the last thing that we’re going to want to do from this podium is get ahead of those investigations,” Kirby said.

Read more here.

GO DEEPER

Collapse of critical Ukrainian dam sparks region-wide evacuations. Here’s what we know
US and western officials see signs Ukraine’s counteroffensive is beginning
Ukrainian offensive is ‘taking place in several directions,’ says official
Exclusive: Ukraine has cultivated sabotage agents inside Russia and is giving them drones to stage attacks, sources say

GO DEEPER

Collapse of critical Ukrainian dam sparks region-wide evacuations. Here’s what we know
US and western officials see signs Ukraine’s counteroffensive is beginning
Ukrainian offensive is ‘taking place in several directions,’ says official
Exclusive: Ukraine has cultivated sabotage agents inside Russia and is giving them drones to stage attacks, sources say