Watch: Massive blast after Russians bomb dam near Kherson during retreat

Retreating Russian forces have partially destroyed a dam near the city of Kherson, a sabotage that environmentalists had warned could flood downstream towns and villages.

A black and white video uploaded onto the website of the pro-war Russian newspaper Izvestia showed the moment a huge blast hit the Nova Kharkova dam.

In the video, the dam appears to be operating as normal when there is a blast and a flash of light. The video freezes momentarily and then shows debris flying off the dam and a fire.

Izvestia reported that Russian soldiers had blown up a road running across the dam to slow the Ukrainian advance.

“The bridge was the only remaining car crossing over the Dnipro River in Kherson,” it said.

But satellite photos suggested that the damage was more serious.