Putin tries to flood Zelenskyy’s home city as reservoir dam hit in missile strike

15 September 2022, 09:00 | Updated: 15 September 2022, 09:02

Russian forces targeted a reservoir dam near the home city of Ukraine’s president in a missile bombardment.

Residents in some areas of Kryvyi Rih were told to evacuate.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the strike was revenge by Russia for its recent counter-attack, which saw over 6,000sq km of territory retaken from the invaders.

"You are weaklings who fight civilians," Mr Zelenskyy said in an address on Wednesday night.

"Scoundrels who, having escaped from the battlefield, are trying to do harm from somewhere far away."

Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs Dmytro Kuleba accused Russia of a war crime.

He said: “Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih hydraulic structures is a war crime and an act of terror. Beaten by Ukrainian army on the battlefield, Russian cowards are now at war with our critical infrastructure and civilians. Russia is a terrorist state and must be recognized as such.”

It is believed the attack was aimed at destroying Ukrainian pontoon bridges far downstream.

The Kyiv Independent said Russia was trying to flood the city of Kryvyi Rih.

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Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, leader of the democratic movement in Belarus, said: “Another shameful attack on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. The Russian missile strike on the dam in Kryvyi Rih is an act of terror against the population. It left many without water supply. Such a cowardly act of revenge on civilians for Russian military losses on the battlefield.”

Footage emerged of civilians rushing to buy water after the attack on the city.

It was reported that the Russians used seven cruise missiles in the attack, targeting critical water infrastructure.

In a separate development, Ukrainian President Mr Zelenskyy’s car collided with another vehicle following a battlefield visit, his spokesman said.

Mr Zelensky was returning to Kyiv from the Kharkiv region, where he visited troops in the recaptured city of Izium.

A passenger vehicle collided with the president's motorcade in the Ukrainian capital, his spokesman, Sergii Nikiforov, said in a Facebook post.

The driver of the other vehicle received first aid from Mr Zelensky's medical team and was taken away by ambulance, he said.

Medics examined the president, who suffered no serious injuries, Mr Nikiforov wrote. He did not specify what injuries Mr Zelensky might have suffered.

The spokesman added that the circumstances of the accident are under investigation.

Mr Zelensky was late in posting the nightly video address that he has given during the war, possibly because of the car accident.