Kiev, 6 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Kiev and Moscow blamed each other for blowing up a major dam in southern Ukraine on Tuesday, with evacuations underway along the Dnipro River.

Ukraine’s military said Russia blew up the Nova Kakhovka dam in Kherson, while the Moscow-installed official in the city denied the claim.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has called an emergency meeting to assess the situation.

"Russian terrorists. The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only confirms for the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land," Zelensky tweeted.

The region's military governor Oleksandr Prokudin said that within five hours the water could reach a critical level.

"The extent of the destruction, the speed and quantity of the water, and the likely flooded areas are being determined," Prokudin said. The Ukrainian-liberated regional capital of Kherson could also be under threat.

Russian occupiers blamed Ukrainian shelling for the damage to the dam.

"The water has risen," Moscow-appointed mayor in Nova Kakhovka Vladimir Leontyev said, according to state-run Russian news agencies.

He said that so far there has been no need to move civilians to safety.

The statements by both sides could not initially be independently verified.