Ukraine

Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed representative from regional emergency services as saying the collapse was a result of a catastrophic structural failure.

“The dam could not stand it: one support collapsed, and flooding began,” the representative told Interfax, adding that there were no attacks on the hydroelectric power station overnight.

Last month, it was reported that water levels in the reservoir had reached a 30-year high, as the Russian occupiers had only kept relatively few sluice gates open, according to experts.

David Helms, a former US air force and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist who has monitored the dam said on Twitter: “The Russians allowed the reservoir to fill to record levels; if the dam failed “naturally”, it certainly failed due to 6 weeks of over-topping and stress on the structure.”