Less than a week ago, the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine collapsed following several explosions, releasing huge volumes of water from its reservoir. The dam sits on the frontline between warring armies, and was under Russian control at the time. The government of Ukraine blames the destruction—and the resulting disaster—on Russia, while Russia has claimed that Ukrainian attacks were the cause. The water level in the Kakhovka Reservoir was at a 30-year high, and the destruction downstream has continued, reportedly killing at least 10 residents and forcing thousands along the Dnipro River to evacuate in the midst of an ongoing war—with Ukraine and Russia accusing each other of shelling the Kherson region while rescue work was underway.
Photos: Flood Damage After the Destruction of Ukraine’s Kakhovka Dam
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![An aerial view of a flooded town]()
Read moreHouses are seen underwater in the flooded town of Oleshky, Ukraine, on June 10, 2023. #
Associated Press -
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![An aerial view of a large amount of water rushing through a destroyed dam]()
Read moreAn aerial view of the Nova Kakhovka dam that was breached in Kherson region, Ukraine, on June 6, 2023, seen in a screen grab taken from a video obtained by Reuters #
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![A rescue worker carries a person out of a flooded area, as others behind them gather belongings from a boat.]()
Read morePolice evacuate local residents from a flooded area after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 7, 2023. #
Ivan Antypenko / Reuters -
![A person swims in deep floodwater beside a house.]()
Read moreA local resident swims by a house in a flooded area in Kherson on June 7, 2023. #
Olexander Kornyakov / AFP / Getty -
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![A column of water rises high above floodwater in a city square.]()
Read moreA column of water rises above floodwater following an explosion, during a Russian military strike that took place as local residents were fleeing from a flooded area in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 8, 2023. #
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![An aerial view of a flooded neighborhood and port facility]()
Read moreStreets are flooded in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 7, 2023. #
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![A flooded residential area, with houses and sheds knocked askew]()
Read moreA flooded residential area, seen in the town of Hola Prystan in the Kherson region, Russian-controlled Ukraine, on June 8, 2023. #
Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters -
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![A small boat carries seven or eight people and several pet dogs through a flooded area.]()
Read moreRescue workers carry locals out of a flood zone in Kherson on June 7, 2023. #
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![A person stands among flood debris with a cat in a net, looking toward two chickens perched on the debris.]()
Read moreAnimal Care Center volunteer Sergiy Ludensky climbs through debris to rescue a cat (in net) and a pair of hens stranded by the flooding in Kherson, eastern Ukraine, on June 8, 2023. #
Aleksey Filippov / AFP / Getty -
![A view of a flooded neighborhood with tall residential buildings]()
Read moreA view of a flooded neighborhood in Kherson, seen on June 8, 2023 #
Libkos / AP -
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![A woman stands inside a room in knee-deep floodwater, holding two small dogs.]()
Read moreLocal resident Tetiana holds her pets, Tsatsa and Chunya, as she stands inside her house that was flooded after the Kakhovka dam blew up, in Kherson, on June 6, 2023. #
Evgeniy Maloletka / AP -
![A person stands outside a burning house.]()
Read moreA local resident stands outside of a house that was heavily damaged in a Russian shelling, during the evacuation of residents from a flooded area in Kherson, on June 9, 2023. #
Oleksandr Klymenko / Reuters -
![Rescue workers operate in a flooded area using an inflatable boat and a large all-terrain vehicle.]()
Read moreUkrainian security forces transport local residents in a boat during an evacuation from a flooded area in Kherson, on June 7, 2023. #
Aleksey Filippov / AFP / Getty -
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![An aerial view of a flooded neighborhood with many oil slicks visible]()
Read moreHouses are seen swamped by floodwater and polluted by oil in a neighborhood in Kherson on June 10, 2023. #
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![Two people try to ride their bikes through deep floodwater.]()
Read moreLocals try to ride their bikes along a flooded road in Kherson on June 6, 2023. #
Evgeniy Maloletka / AP -
![Several people work to guide a cow onto a raft.]()
Read moreUkrainian servicemen help residents load a cow onto a pontoon raft during the evacuation of the flooded village of Afanasiivka, Mykolaiv region, on June 9, 2023, after water levels in the Inhulets River rose. #
Genya Savilov / AFP / Getty -
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![A dog is carried in a blanket.]()
Read moreMen unload a rescued dog, carried out of a boat inside a blanket, during evacuation efforts in Kherson, on June 8, 2023. #
Yan Dobronosov / Global Images Ukraine / Getty -
![Several houses and trees, surrounded by floodwater]()
Read moreA flooded area in Kherson, seen on June 10, 2023 #
Oleksandr Klymenko / Reuters -
![Eight or nine people crouch beside a wall.]()
Read morePeople shelter from shelling during an evacuation from a flooded area in Kherson, on June 8, 2023. #
Sergei Chuzavkov / AFP / Getty -
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![A man sits on the edge of a hospital bed with his bandaged arm in a sling.]()
Read moreVitalii Shpalin sits on a bed at a hospital in Kherson region on June 12, 2023, after he was shot on Sunday while using a boat to flee a flooded village on the left bank on Dnipro River, Ukraine. #
Evgeniy Maloletka / AP -
![A soldier steers a boat through floodwater amid residential buildings.]()
Read moreA Ukrainian serviceman steers a boat in a flooded neighborhood in Kherson, on June 8, 2023. #
Evgeniy Maloletka / AP -
![A crowd of people gathers around a truck, where people hand out boxes of aid.]()
Read moreResidents receive humanitarian aid provided by volunteers from Global Empowerment Mission in Kherson, on June 11, 2023. #
Roman Pilipey / Getty -
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![A person sits on a bed inside a flooded room.]()
Read moreVitali, a local resident, inspects his flooded house in Afanasieva, Mykolayivs'ka Oblast, Ukraine, on June 9, 2023. #
Daniel Carde / Anadolu Agency / Getty -
![An aerial view of a flooded area of a city]()
Read moreStreets are flooded in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 7, 2023. #
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![A dog sits on a roof.]()
Read moreA dog sits on a roof in a flooded residential area in the town of Hola Prystan, in the Kherson region, on June 8, 2023. #
Alexander Ermochenko / Reuters -
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![A person cleans inside a flood-damaged grocery store.]()
Read moreOleksiy cleans his grocery store that was damaged by flooding, in the town of Kherson, on June 11, 2023. #
Genya Savilov / AFP / Getty -
![A person holds up a photograph while also holding a cat.]()
Read moreAngelina Kopayeva, holding her cat Ryzhyk, shows a recovered picture of her family in Kherson, Ukraine, on June 7, 2023. #
Alex Babenko / Getty
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