KRYVYI RIH, Ukraine – A barrage of cruise missiles fell on the Ukrainian industrial city of Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday, damaging a dam and pushing water downstream.
Videos on social media showed pedestrian bridges drifting and frothy white water billowing along river banks in the southern Ukrainian city where Kyiv’s forces are launching a counterattack. Residents said a large dam was hit on the Inholets River, a strategic waterway, and many were worried about flooding.
As the river’s water level rose on Wednesday night, local officials urged people living nearby to evacuate. Oleksandr Vilkul, the military governor of Kryvyi Rih, said residents would be bused to local schools.
‘If the water does not reach you, it will soon,’ wrote Mr. Filcol. His Facebook page.
Kirillo Tymoshenko, a senior official in President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, said about 100 cubic meters of water leaked from the dam every second. “This is a huge amount,” he said in a post on the Telegram messaging service. “And the water level in the Inholets River changes every hour.”
Mr. Zelensky condemned the attack in his nightly address.
Russia was hitting “things that had absolutely no military value” He said speaking in Russian. “You weak people are waging war against civilians.”
Ukrainian officials accused Russia of targeting civilian infrastructure in response to recent battlefield losses in the northeast, as a fast-moving offensive reclaimed an swathe of land outside Kharkiv, the country’s second-largest city. Earlier this week, Russian forces cut off electricity to much of the city, although it was restored.
Military analysts have suggested that the Russians may have targeted the dam to raise the river’s level and thwart Ukraine’s counterattack in the south. Inhulets separates the bulk of the Ukrainian forces from their Russian counterparts.
The missile strike occurred around 5 pm, destroying the afternoon calm in Kryvyi Rih, Mr. Zelensky’s hometown.
In one school, volunteers sewed blankets of camouflage fabric for soldiers to cover checkpoints or equipment. Several participants said they felt even more motivated after a string of Ukrainian military victories over the past week that liberated thousands of square miles of occupied territory.
“I know it will take more time,” said Oksana Savusko, who used to work in a grocery store and is now volunteering to help with the war effort. “But I can already feel the mood for victory.”
Oleksandr ChubkoAnd the Oleksandra Mikulishin And the Vivek Shankar Contribute to the preparation of reports.
