The Pelorian hydroelectric dam, built during the Soviet Union and located in the part of Kherson (southern Ukraine) controlled by the Russian armed forces, was “blown up” today, causing leak a huge amount of wateraccording to the belligerents, who they blame each other for the destruction of the infrastructure of critical importance.

Videos circulating on social networking sites – which cannot be verified at this time – show very powerful explosions at the dam in Nova Kahovka, on the Dnieper River. Other videos show huge amounts of water pouring out of the dam’s wreckage and shocked bystanders.

The dam, thirty meters high and 3.2 kilometers long, was built in 1956 on the Dnieper, as part of the construction of a hydroelectric plant in Nova Kahovka.

In its reservoir there are 18 cubic kilometers of water and from it both the Crimean peninsula – annexed by Russia in 2014 – and the nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia, the largest in Europe, which needs an uninterrupted supply to cool the reactors, are supplied with water. of.

The opposing sides blamed each other for the destruction of the dam.

“The [φράγμα στην] Kakhovka was blown up by the Russian occupation forces,” the command of the southern sector of the Ukrainian army said on Facebook. The same source added that “the extent of the disaster, the speed and volume of the water and the areas that are likely to be flooded are being clarified.”

According to officials close to Moscow who spoke to Russian news agencies, the dam was shelled by the Ukrainians. An official stationed by Moscow in the region spoke of a “very serious terrorist act”, terminology that also refers to a Ukrainian attack.

The evacuation of communities in the region has already begun, Khersons regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said.

“Within five hours the water will have reached a critical level,” Mr Prokudin warned via Telegram at 06:45 [τοπική ώρα και ώρα Ελλάδας].

According to Russian state news agency TASS, some 80 communities will need to be evacuated in the region.