Russian strikes on Monday damaged a key dam near the front line in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, heightening fears of rising water levels that could threaten nearby villages, Ukrainian officials warned.
The dam, located in the village of Stari Terny, is near the town of Kurakhove, which has a pre-war population of about 10,000.
As Russia’s forces advance, the potential flooding of settlements along the Vovcha River in Donetsk and Dnipro regions looms.
By 4 p.m. local time, water levels in the Velykonovosilkivska community had risen by 1.2 meters (four feet), but no flooding had been reported.
Governor Vadym Filashkin confirmed the damage, adding that no immediate threat of large-scale flooding had emerged.
However, experts warn that the strike could have devastating long-term environmental impacts, similar to the destruction of a Soviet-era dam in Kherson last year, which flooded dozens of villages and caused significant damage to the region’s ecosystem.
The fresh damage comes as Moscow’s army pushes deeper into Donetsk, closing in on Kurakhove.
International environmental groups continue to highlight the long-lasting effects of Russia’s actions on Ukraine’s natural landscape.
Meanwhile, in central Ukraine, Russian shelling killed two people in Nikopol and injured at least 14 others in Kryvyi Rig, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s hometown.
Ukrainian authorities said rescue teams were working to retrieve people from the rubble of a five-story apartment block struck by a ballistic missile. A woman and three children were feared trapped under the debris.
These latest attacks follow a weekend of intense drone assaults between the two nations, underscoring the escalating violence as the war approaches its 1,000th day.
While the Ukrainian military continues to fend off these assaults, Moscow’s strikes aim to weaken civilian morale and destabilize the nation’s resolve to continue the fight.
On Monday, Russian glide bombs and drones struck southern and eastern Ukraine, killing at least six civilians and injuring around 30 more.
Zelenskyy condemned the "daily terror" and the increasing targeting of civilian areas.
The strikes also included an assault on the southern city of Mykolaiv, where drones killed five people and injured a 45-year-old woman.
Mykolaiv, located near the front line in the Kherson region, has frequently been hit by Russian attacks. In Zaporizhzhia, another southern city, three glide bombs struck overnight, killing one person and injuring 21, including a 4-year-old boy.
The blasts partially destroyed a two-story apartment building and damaged a dormitory.
Zelenskyy’s hometown, Kryvyi Rig, suffered significant damage as well, with at least eight people injured in the missile strike on the five-story apartment building.
Emergency services scrambled to rescue those trapped in the wreckage.
As the war continues, both Russia and Ukraine are closely watching the political landscape in the U.S.
After the election of Donald Trump, concerns have grown over the future of American support for Ukraine.
Trump, critical of the Biden administration's aid to Kyiv, has promised to bring the war to a swift end, though details of how remain unclear.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, visiting Ukraine on Monday, warned that allowing Russia to win would damage U.S. leadership.
"It would not be a victory for American leadership if Ukraine crumbles," Borrell said, underscoring the global stakes of the conflict.
While the political future of U.S. support hangs in the balance, Ukrainian forces continue to fight back.
Ukrainian intelligence also claimed responsibility for destroying a Russian Mi-24 assault helicopter at an airfield in the Moscow region, though the claim could not be independently verified.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported destroying 17 Ukrainian drones over Kursk, Belgorod, and Voronezh, further intensifying the aerial conflict between the two nations.
