Ukrainian troops advanced by as much as a kilometre during fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut, the Defence Ministry said, as Kyiv rushed to evacuate people from areas flooded by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

A torrent of water burst through a massive dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine on Tuesday, flooding a swathe of the war zone, forcing villagers to flee and prompting finger-pointing from both sides.

Ukrainians have abandoned inundated homes as floods crested across a swathe of the south  after the destruction of a huge hydro-electric dam on front lines between

Around 16,000 people could be affected and water will reach ‘critical level’ in coming hours, says Kherson governor

By Matthias Williams, Mark Trevelyan and Gloria Dickie LONDON (Reuters) -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.

Germany blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for the destruction of the Kakhova dam in Ukraine, and was joined by other European NATO members in denouncing it as a “war crime.”