GENICHESK, June 13. /TASS/. The death toll from the collapse of the dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) has risen to 17, Andrey Alexyeyenko, head of the regional government, said on Tuesday.

"The death toll from the act of sabotage carried out by Nazis is rising. Twelve deaths have been confirmed in Golaya Pristan and another five in Alyoshki," he wrote on Telegram.

Earlier, nine deaths were reported.

On the morning of June 6, the Ukrainian armed forces delivered a strike on the Kakhovka hydro station, destroying the hydraulic sluice valves and causing an uncontrolled discharge of water. The water level reached 12 meters in Novaya Kakhovka at one point but is now receding. There are 35 communities in the flood zone; residents of nearby towns and villages are being evacuated.

The dam’s collapse caused serious environmental damage as 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 described the attack on the Kakhovka HPP as a deliberate act of sabotage by Ukraine. He added that the Kiev regime should bear full responsibility for the consequences.