Liveblog: ++ Selenskyj holds emergency meeting ++

Because of the destruction at the Kakhovka dam, the Ukrainian President Zelenskyj has called an emergency meeting. A nationwide air alert went off again in Ukraine overnight. The developments in the live blog.

Ukraine’s state nuclear regulatory agency says the damage to the Kakhovka dam poses a threat to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. But the situation is under control.

Ukrainian President Zelensky has blamed Russia for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. On Twitter he spoke of “Russian terrorists” who used “every meter for their terror”. They would “not be able to stop Ukraine with water, missiles or anything else”.

Andriy Yermak, adviser to the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, describes the destruction of the Kakhovka dam as “ecocide” and blames Russia for it. The Ukrainian authorities worked to ensure the safety of local residents. Russia’s actions are also a threat to the nearby Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, Yermak writes on Telegram, but does not go into detail.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will hold an emergency meeting over the explosion at the Nova Kakhova dam in southern Ukraine. This was announced by Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, on Twitter.

According to the head of the Kherson regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, evacuation has started in the area around the destroyed Kakhovka dam. The water will therefore reach a critical level within five hours.

The Russian state news agency TASS quoted the rescue services as saying that around 80 settlements in the area could be affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

According to the Russian statement, the collapse of the Kakhovka dam poses no immediate danger to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. This is reported by the Russian state news agency TASS, citing an administrative representative deployed by Russia in the occupied Zaporizhia region.

The nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe and has long been under Russian control. The dam, 30 meters high and 3.2 kilometers long, was built on the Dnipro River in 1956 as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. The reservoir formed as a result holds around 18 billion cubic meters of water and supplies the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

According to the Ukrainian military, the Kakhovka Dam in the Russian-controlled part of the Ukrainian region of Kherson has been blown up by Russian forces. “The extent of the destruction, the speed and volume of the water and the probable flood areas are currently being clarified,” writes the South Command on its Facebook page. Earlier, the mayor of the town of Nova Kakhovka in the Moscow-occupied Kherson region contradicted the reports.

The Russian agency TASS reported that the dam collapsed and the surrounding areas were flooded.

The mayor of the town of Nowa Kakhovka in the Moscow-occupied southern Ukrainian region of Kherson has denied reports that the Kakhovka Dam had been blown up, according to the Russian state news agency Ria. Numerous posts had previously circulated on Russian and Ukrainian social media, according to which the dam had been destroyed. The reports could not immediately be independently verified.

Ukraine reports renewed wave of Russian air raids on the capital Kiev. Officials speak of 20 intercepted cruise missiles. “Everyone was shot down, there were no hits,” said the head of the military administration, Serhiy Popko, on the Telegram news channel. Witnesses from the Reuters news agency say they heard several explosions that sounded like anti-aircraft systems. The city has been on air alert for more than four hours from just after midnight.

According to the military, falling debris is damaging roads and overhead power lines in the Desnyansky district of Kiev. Located on the left bank of the Dnipro River, the district is the most populous in Kiev. According to preliminary information, there were no injuries. Reuters was not immediately able to independently verify the reports.

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has praised the advance of troops in the hotly contested city of Bakhmut. “I am grateful to each and every one of our soldiers, all our defenders, men and women, who gave us the news today that we have been waiting for. Well done, soldiers in the Bakhmut sector,” Zelenskyy said in his evening video address. Two units in particular defended the Ukrainian positions “skillfully, resolutely and effectively” and “destroyed the occupiers” and advanced. The destroyed Bakhmut is located in Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine.

Russia says it has thwarted another major offensive by Ukrainian forces in Donetsk. “After suffering heavy casualties the previous day, the Kiev regime reorganized the remnants of the 23rd and 31st brigades into separate, consolidated units that continued their offensive operations,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on its official Telegram channel.

Russian ground and air forces inflicted defeat on Ukrainian forces with rockets, artillery and heavy flamethrower systems. The report could not be independently confirmed, and Ukraine did not comment. On Monday, Ukraine already rejected the Russian claim that a counter-offensive had been launched in the Donetsk region.

According to reports, there was another nationwide air alert in Ukraine overnight. In the early hours of the morning, violent explosions were heard in various districts of the capital Kiev, as “Ukrayinska Pravda” reported. According to the military administration and Mayor Vitali Klitschko, the air defense system has been activated.