Zelenskyy Visits Flooded Area as Five Reported Dead in Russian-Occupied City

A breached dam near Nova Kakhovka has caused massive flooding, resulting in the deaths of five residents of the Russian-occupied city in one of the largest environmental crises since Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine. Two other people who had gone missing following Tuesday’s dam breach were also found, said Vladimir Leontyev, the Russian-appointed mayor of Nova Kakhovka. At least 4,000 people have been evacuated from both the Russian and Ukrainian-controlled sides of the Dnieper river, which has become part of the front line between fighting forces. On the Ukrainian-controlled western bank, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived to evaluate the response to the damage caused by the dam breach. Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said over two-thirds of the affected area of more than 600 sq km is on the Russian-controlled eastern bank, critical for water supplies to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that the destruction of the dam was an attack without saying who is to blame.