NOVAYA KAKHOVKA /Kherson Region/, June 7. /TASS/. At least seven people were reported missing in the city of Novaya Kakhovka as a result of uncontrolled water discharge from the Kakhovka Reservoir following a dam burst on Tuesday, city Mayor Vladimir Leontyev told TASS on Wednesday.
"We have information about at least seven persons," he said, when asked how many people went missing after the incident.
On Tuesday night, the Ukrainian military delivered a strike on the Kakhovka HPP, presumably from an Olkha MLRS. The shelling destroyed the hydraulic valves at the dam, triggering an uncontrolled discharge of water. In Novaya Kakhovka, the water level has already exceeded 12 meters. There are currently 14 settlements in the flooded area, and a total of about 80 villages may be inundated. Residents of nearby settlements are being evacuated, though authorities have said no large-scale evacuations are necessary. The collapse of the plant's dam has caused serious environmental damage. Farmlands along the Dnieper River have been washed away, and there is a risk that the North Crimean Canal will become shallow.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Ukrainian attack on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) was deliberate sabotage. He added that the Kiev regime should bear full responsibility for the consequences.