The Kakhovka dam controls water supply to towns throughout southern Ukraine, including Crimea and other territory illegally occupied by Russia. Thousands were being evacuated.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said on Tuesday it was too early to give a meaningful assessment of the details behind the destruction of a dam in southern Ukraine, but that it happened only because of Russia's invasion.

A dam in a Russian-controlled part of southern Ukraine has been attacked, leading to a major evacuation. It comes as debate continues over whether Ukraine's counteroffensive has finally started. Watch aerial footage of the dam damage in the video below.

Ukraine said Russian forces blew up a giant dam in the country’s south, unleashing a torrent of floodwater across the battlefield separating their two armies as Kyiv steps up fighting to reclaim occupied territory.

Ukraine said Russian forces have blown up a giant dam in the country’s south, unleashing a torrent of floodwater that threatens residents and complicates the battlefield separating their two armies along the Dnipro river.

Russia's state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom said on Tuesday that the breach of a dam in southern Ukraine did not pose a threat to the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant for now where it said the situation was being monitored.