Ukraine evacuates thousands critical zone near Kakhovka plant

Thousands of people are being evacuated downstream of a major dam which has been blown up in Russian-held Ukraine.

President Zelensky said 80 towns and villages are at risk of flooding after the destruction of the dam at Nova Kakhovka, which he blamed on Russia.

Water is surging down the Dnipro River and is said to pose a catastrophic flooding risk to the city of Kherson.

Russia has denied destroying the dam which it controls instead blaming Ukrainian shelling.

Neither Ukraine or Russia’s claim has been verified.

Head of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin said the evacuation of residents living in the threatened areas on the Ukraine-controlled western bank of the Dnipro River are under way, and appealed to residents on the opposite bank currently under Russian control to immediately leave their homes.

The Kakhovka dam is crucial in the region, containing a reservoir, which provides water to farmers and residents, as well as to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

It is also is a vital channel carrying water south to Russian-occupied Crimea.