About 600 sq km of Ukraine's Kherson region under water after dam destroyed - governor

FILE PHOTO: A view shows a flooded area after the Nova Kakhovka dam breached, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kherson, Ukraine June 7, 2023. REUTERS/Vladyslav Smilianets/

KYIV (Reuters) - About 600 square kilometres, or 230 square miles, of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine was under water on Thursday following the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, the regional governor said.

Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said 68% of the flooded territory was on the Russian-occupied left bank of the Dnipro River. The "average level of flooding" in the Kherson region on Thursday morning was 5.61 metres (18.41 ft), he said.