KYIV: Russian strikes on Monday damaged a dam near the front line in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, Ukrainian authorities said, warning nearby villages could be threatened by rising water levels.
Ukraine also said Russian attacks killed two people in the centre of the country, with rescue operations ongoing in the city of Kryvyi Rig.
The attacks came after the two warring countries hit each other with massive drone attacks at the weekend and as the long-term future of US support for Ukraine hangs in the air after the election of Donald Trump.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has dragged on for nearly three years.
Moscow’s army is now rapidly advancing in the Donetsk region and is closing in on the town of Kurakhove, which lies next to the reservoir and had a pre-war population of around 10,000 people.
“The Russians damaged the dam of the reservoir of Kurakhove. This strike potentially threatens residents of settlements on the Vovcha River, both in Donetsk and Dnipro regions,” the region’s Governor Vadym Filashkin said.
“As of 16:00, the water level in the river within the Velykonovosilkivska community has risen by 1.2 metres (four feet). No flooding has been reported so far!” he posted on social media.
The dam lies in the village of Stari Terny, west of Kurakhove.
Russian missiles kill police officer in strike on Ukraine’s Kharkiv
International environmental groups have warned of the devastating effects of Russia’s invasion on Ukraine’s nature.
In June last year, a massive Soviet-era dam in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region was blown up, pouring billions of litres of water downstream and flooding dozens of villages on the banks of the Dnipro River.
Kyiv said Russia, whose troops controlled the dam at the time, blew it up to thwart a Ukrainian counter-offensive. Moscow blamed Ukraine.
Dozens were killed in the floods that followed the blast, which has also caused vast environmental damage to southern Ukraine.
Attacks on central Ukraine
Russia also targeted the central Ukrainian cities of Nikopol and Kryvyi Rig on Monday.
Moscow’s shelling killed two people in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk region governor Sergiy Lysak said.
In Kryvyi Rig, the home city of President Volodymyr Zelensky, a search and rescue operation was underway, with at least 14 people wounded after Russian strikes on the city.
“Emergency workers are dismantling the rubble,” Lysak said.
“A woman and three children may be trapped there,” he added, publishing a photo of a seriously damaged block of flats.
Kryvyi Rig has been regularly hit by Russian strikes.
The attacks came a day after Moscow and Kyiv launched record drone attacks on each other on Sunday.
The election of Donald Trump in the United States has raised questions about the future of the conflict, with the Republican being vocally critical of US aid to Ukraine.
Throughout his presidential campaign, Trump vowed that he would end the war swiftly, without giving details as to how.
Visiting Ukraine on Monday, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that letting Russia win in Ukraine would represent a loss for the United States.
“Certainly it would not be a victory for the American leadership if Ukraine crumbles down and Putin wins the war,” Borrell told AFP on the first trip to Kyiv by a senior EU official since Trump’s election triumph.
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