Kherson, June 6.– The dam is located upstream from the city of Kherson on the Dnipro 
River in southern Ukraine. Russia controls territory on the left bank of the river. The right bank is held by Ukraine.
The 2km-long dam has a road running along its top and is about 30 meters high. It powers the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant, a major energy producer, and holds back a reservoir containing 18 cubic km of water, which in turn feeds the north Crimea canal. The canal carries drinking water to Russian-occupied Crimea.
While there is still a lot of conflicting information, one version has it that at around 3 am on 
Tuesday morning, a large explosion occurred. The blast was reportedly loud enough to be heard 80km away. Footage from a monitoring camera overlooking the dam appears to show a flash, explosion, and breakage of the dam.
How serious is the damage?
The dam and Kakhovka hydroelectric plant appear to have been largely swept away, releasing a wall of water downstream ...