Overflow of Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant floods villages in southern Ukraine

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, on Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia in the southern province of Kherson, caused the first floods in villages in the area, as shown by several videos posted by Ukrainian authorities' accounts on social networks.

According to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, the overflow due to the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant - which Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of - could affect up to 80 localities in the region, most of them located in territory occupied by Russian forces.

A total of 742 people have so far been evacuated from the affected areas, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko.

The Ukrainian Military Administration in the area put the number of people living in the "critical zone" most exposed to flooding at 16,000.

The figure does not include the inhabitants of the Russian-controlled territory on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, on which the dam is located and which splits Kherson oblast in two.