Nova Kakhovka dam: Satellite images reveal scale of destruction wrought on Ukraine’s landscape

The scale of the destruction wrought by water pouring through the destroyed Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine has been revealed in new satellite images.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the bursting of the dam as “an environmental bomb of mass destruction” and laid the blame squarely at Russia’s door.

News of an apparent explosion at the dam – sending huge amounts of water across swathes of southern Ukraine – was met with global outcry and accusations of a war crime.

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Drag the white line from side to side to see satellite images taken before and after the blast:

Russia has blamed Kyiv for what happened, but US intelligence is “leaning towards” Moscow being behind the attack.

New pictures released by Maxar Technologies show the impact of the disaster from above.

Before the incident, the dam had held back the Kakhovka reservoir, a huge artificial lake holding 18.2 cubic kilometres of water.

Now that water has been rushing through the ruins of the Nova Kakhovka dam and wreaking destruction on the surrounding landscape.

The scale of the problem can be seen in images taken from space, showing the huge areas newly submerged.