Kiev, 6 June 2023 (dpa/MIA) - Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, has said that Russia had an "obvious" motive for targeting the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine. The attack could create "insurmountable obstacles" for Ukraine's expected counteroffensive, Podolyak said.

Podolyak wrote on Twitter on Tuesday that it was an attempt to delay the end of the war and a deliberate crime.

"On a vast territory, all life will be destroyed; many settlements will be ruined; colossal damage will be done to the environment," Podolyak wrote.

Moscow, in turn, blamed Kiev for the explosion that damaged the dam and caused water to start cascading downstream.

The area is mostly occupied by Russian troops, who also had control of the destroyed power plant by the dam and thus the level of the reservoir. The regional capital Kherson further downstream is under Ukrainian control.