KHERSON, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukrainians abandoned inundated homes as floods crested across a swathe of the south on Wednesday after the destruction of a huge hydro-electric dam on front lines between Russian and Ukrainian forces, with their presidents trading blame for the disaster. | 02:07pm
Ukrainians abandoned inundated homes as floodwaters crested across a swathe of the south on Wednesday after the destruction of a vast hydro-electric dam on the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces that each blamed on the other. Residents waded through flooded streets carrying children on their shoulders, dogs in their arms and belongings in plastic bags while rescuers used rubber boats to search areas where the waters reached above head height.
The breach of a huge dam on the front-line Dnipro river has muddied the picture for a much-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian invaders and threatens an environmental disaster for civilians living in the war zone. Kyiv and Moscow have blamed each other for the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine