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Ukraine, which commented first, said Russia was responsible:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station from inside the facility, and said Russia must be held to account for a "terrorist attack".

"At 02.50, Russian terrorists carried out an internal detonation of the structures of the Kakhovskaya HPP. About 80 settlements are in the zone of flooding," Zelenskyy said after an emergency meeting of senior officials.

A Ukrainian military spokesperson said Russia's aim was to prevent Ukrainian troops from crossing the Dnipro River to attack Russian occupying forces.