June 6, 2023 Russia-Ukraine news

By Tara Subramaniam, Jessie Yeung, Sana Noor Haq, Sebastian Shukla, Schams Elwazer, Caolán Magee, Aditi Sangal, Adrienne Vogt, Elise Hammond, Maureen Chowdhury and Tori B. Powell, CNN

Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, June 7, 2023

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10:30 a.m. ET, June 6, 2023

Destruction of dam "threatens environmental disaster," says Ukrainian Prime Minister

From CNN's Olga Yoitovych in Kyiv and Irene Nasser

Denys Shmyhal addresses a press conference in Reykjavik, Iceland, on May 17. Halldor Kolbeins/AFP/Getty Images

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam "threatens an environmental disaster" for the south of Ukraine, said the country's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal on Tuesday.

"The world must respond. Immediately. But not just with words, but with actions," Shmyhal said.

Earlier Tuesday morning, another top Ukrainian official called the destruction of the dam "ecocide" that will have consequences on people's access to drinking water and various ecosystems.

Evacuations: Shmyhal added that residents of the flooded areas are being evacuated, with operations "underway from the Ostriv microdistrict in Kherson city." Evacuation trains to the southern city Mykolaiv are also being arranged, he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has convened a National Security and Defense Council meeting, Shmyhal said, adding that another meeting on environmental safety and emergency response would be held next.

Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: Shmyhal also said authorities were "assessing the environmental impact and the threat" to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which lies upstream from the dam.

"Due to the lack of access to it, such an assessment is difficult," Shmyhal said, adding that Russia "must immediately withdraw from" the plant to "avoid further disaster."

Ukraine’s nuclear agency Energoatom said the destruction of the dam may have negative consequences on the nuclear power plant but the situation is under control.

10:30 a.m. ET, June 6, 2023

Russian-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka says repair of destroyed damn "not possible now"

From CNN's Josh Pennington

Repairing the destroyed Nova Kakhovka dam "is not possible now," Vladimir Leontiev, the Russia-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka said Tuesday, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.

Leontiev said earlier Tuesday that strikes overnight destroyed the "gate valves" of the dam.

Drone video shows a deluge of water gushing from a sizeable breach. The dam holds around 18 cubic kilometers of water in the Kakhovka Reservior, about equal to the Great Salt Lake in the US state of Utah, according to Reuters news agency.

10:30 a.m. ET, June 6, 2023

Water from destroyed dam will be "critically high" in hours, Ukrainian official says

From CNN's Olga Yoitovych in Kyiv and Irene Nasser

A satellite image shows Nova Kakhovka Dam in Kherson region, Ukraine on May 28. Maxar Technologies/Reuters

Water levels from the destroyed Nova Kakhovka dam are expected to reach "critically high" levels by about 11:00 a.m. local time (4:00 a.m. ET), Oleksandr Samoylenko, head of Kherson’s regional council said on national television.

"The water is rising. We see partial flooding of settlements. Indeed, the river flow has increased," Samoylenko said.

Kherson city will be particularly impacted, Samoylenko said, noting that some parts in the lowlands of the Dnipro and Inhulets rivers will also be affected.

Samoylenko added that hospitals are on alert and anyone who needs to be evacuated will be.

Some context: The critical Nova Kakhova dam spans the Dnipro River, a major waterway running through southeastern Ukraine. There are multiple towns and cities downstream, including Kherson, a city of some 300,000 people before Moscow’s invasion of its neighbor.

10:30 a.m. ET, June 6, 2023

"No immediate nuclear safety risk" at Zaporizhzhia plant, UN watchdog says

From CNN's Sarita Harilela

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, on March 29. Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Tuesday that its experts are "closely monitoring the situation" and there is "no immediate nuclear safety risk" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant following the destruction of a major nearby dam.

The Nova Kakhovka dam in the Kherson region supplied water for much of southeastern Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which lies upstream and is also under Russian control.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s nuclear agency said Tuesday that the dam's destruction may have negative consequences for the nuclear plant, but the situation is under control.

“The water from the Kakhovka reservoir is needed for the plant to receive replenishment for turbine condensers and safety systems of the ZNPP,” Energoatom said in a statement on Telegram. “The cooling pond is now full: as of 8:00 am [local time], the water level is 16.6 meters, which is sufficient for the plant's needs.”

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s military also said Tuesday that the situation at the plant is "under control."

Ukraine has blamed Russia for blowing up the dam, while a senior Russia-installed official said its destruction was "a serious terrorist attack."

10:30 a.m. ET, June 6, 2023

Russia-installed official says "no threat to people's lives" on banks of Dnipro River

From CNN's Josh Pennington

The area downstream along the banks of the Dnipro River is "under control," following the the destruction of the Nova Kakhova dam, the Russia-installed head of the Kherson region claimed Tuesday.

"There is no threat to people's lives," said Andrey Alekseenko on Telegram, adding that Ministry of Emergency Situation staff are in control of the river's water levels.
"If necessary, we are ready to evacuate the residents of embankment villages, buses are prepared," he said.

The head of Ukraine’s Kherson regional military administration earlier said evacuations from potential flood zones had begun and urged residents to “do everything you can to save your life.”

Ukraine's military has blamed Russia for blowing up the dam, while a senior Russia-installed official said its destruction was "a serious terrorist attack."

2:19 a.m. ET, June 6, 2023

Here are the other major developments in Russia's war on Ukraine

From CNN staff

Ukrainian soldiers stand in their positions near Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Monday, June 5. Iryna Rybakova/AP

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday the destruction of a critical southern dam confirms that Russians "must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land."

His remarks come as Kyiv's forces report successful advances in the east of the country and as Moscow claims it repelled a "large-scale offensive" by Ukrainian troops.

Here are the other top headlines:

Kyiv's counteroffensive: The Ukrainian offensive is “taking place in several directions” in the eastern part of the country, according to Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar. Ukrainian troops have made advances near the city of Bakhmut, Maliar said. The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said Ukrainian forces have taken back some land north of the city. Meanwhile, the top US general told CNN that while Ukraine is "very well prepared" for a counteroffensive, it is "too early to tell what outcomes are going to happen."
Russian claims: Russia's Defense Ministry claimed Tuesday that Ukrainian forces suffered "heavy losses" during an unsuccessful attempt to advance in the south of the Donetsk region on Monday. It claimed Russian forces destroyed "28 tanks, including eight main battle Leopard tanks ... and 109 armored fighting vehicles." The latest claims from Moscow come after the Russian ministry said Monday that its troops had repelled a "large-scale offensive" by Ukrainian forces in southern Donetsk. Moscow is known to make inflated claims about Ukrainian losses and CNN could not independently verify the reports.
Kharkiv strike: A 57-year-old man was killed and nine others were wounded in a Russian strike on Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region on Monday, according to Ukranian officials. The rocket attack targeted a residential area in the town of Balaklia, officials said.
Sabotage network: Ukraine has cultivated a network of agents and sympathizers inside Russia working to carry out acts of sabotage, multiple people familiar with US intelligence told CNN. US officials believe these pro-Ukrainian agents carried out anattack on the Kremlin in May by launching drones from inside Russia.
Western support: On a visit to Kyiv, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly told President Volodymyr Zelensky that the UK will continue to back Ukraine. Later, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said groups of Ukrainian pilots have been selected for training in the UK where they will learn to fly modern fighter jets.

10:29 a.m. ET, June 6, 2023

Dam destruction will "certainly" affect Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant but situation is "under control," Ukraine's military says

From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv and Josh Pennington

Natalia Humeniuk speaks during a briefing in Odesa, southern Ukraine on May 4. Nina Liashonok/Ukrinform/Future Publishing/Getty Images

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam will "certainly" affect the operation of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine but the situation is "under control," a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military said Tuesday.

“According to experts, this will certainly affect the operation [of the Zaporizhzhia NPP]. But there is no need to escalate the situation now and draw the most critical conclusions," Ukraine's southern command spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said on national television.
“The situation is currently under control,” she added.

Earlier Tuesday, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president's office, said on Tuesday that the dam's destruction will "also pose a threat to the [Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant]."

The plant, the largest nuclear facility in Europe, has been occupied by Russian forces since the early days of the invasion last year.

Some context: The Nova Kakhovka dam is a critical piece of infrastructure, holding around 18 cubic kilometers in the Kakhovka Reservoir, about equal to the Great Salt Lake in the US state of Utah, according to Reuters.

The dam supplies water for much of southeastern Ukraine and the Crimean peninsula which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

“Crimea is indeed very dependent on water supply," Humeniuk said Tuesday. "I would like to ask whom they have made worse.”

10:29 a.m. ET, June 6, 2023

Zelensky says destruction of dam shows Russians "must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land"

From CNN's Olga Voitovych in Kyiv

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam confirms that Russians "must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land", Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement on his official Telegram Tuesday.

"Not a single meter should be left to them, because they use every meter for terror," Zelensky said.

"It’s only Ukraine's victory that will return security. And this victory will come. The terrorists will not be able to stop Ukraine with water, missiles or anything else," he added.

Zelensky also confirmed he has convened a meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.

10:40 a.m. ET, June 6, 2023

Residents urged to evacuate as water gushes from breached dam in southern Ukraine. Here's what we know

From CNN staff

A major dam in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine collapsed early Tuesday, prompting evacuations and fears for large-scale devastation as Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for committing what they both described as a terrorist act.

Residents downstream from the Nova Kakhova dam on the Dnipro River in Kherson were told to “do everything you can to save your life,” according to the head of Ukraine’s Kherson regional military administration, as video showed a deluge of water gushing from a huge breach in the dam.

Drone video, posted to social media and geolocated by CNN, showed the destroyed dam wall and fast-moving torrents of water flowing out into the river.

Ukraine blames Russia: Ukraine’s Operational Command South on Tuesday confirmed the dam’s destruction in a post on its official Facebook page, saying they were assessing the scale of the destruction and calculating likely areas of flooding. In a video statement posted on Telegram, Oleksandr Prokudin, the Ukraine-appointed head of the Kherson region military administration, blamed Russian forces.
Russia-backed official's U-turn: The Russian-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka, Vladimir Leontiev, initially on Tuesday denied information about the dam collapsing in an interview with Russian state media RIA Novosti, calling it “nonsense.” He later confirmed the destruction of parts of the dam in what he called “a serious terrorist act” but said there was “no need to evacuate.”
Some context: Throughout the course of the war in Ukraine both Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of plotting to blow up the Soviet-era dam. The escaping torrent of water has the potential to cause major destruction around Kherson city and other populated areas along the Dnipro River, according to analysts who have been fearing a breach could occur in the fighting. And Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky had previously warned that a breach of the dam could have catastrophic consequences for those living downstream.