Explainer-Ukraine dam: When do attacks on civilian installations amount to war crimes?

A satellite image shows Nova Kakhovka Dam in Kherson region, Ukraine May 28, 2023. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - The Geneva Conventions and its protocols explicitly ban war-time attacks on "installations containing dangerous forces" such as dams due to the risk posed to civilians, a prohibition likely to come into focus after the destruction of a huge Ukrainian dam.

Ukraine accused Russia on Tuesday of blowing up the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine, inundating a populated region of the war zone and forcing villagers to flee.