We begin tonight with the growing fears of an environmental catastrophe unfolding in Ukraine. And this is not because of the ongoing bombs and bullets raining down on citizens, but instead cascading flood waters are threatening thousands of people after a critical dam on the front lines was sabotage. We are learning those flood waters are expected to peak in the coming hours. Ukrainian President Z blamed Russian terrorists for blowing up calling it the largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades. Take a look at these stunning satellite photos from before and then after the explosion. Look at all that water. It is rushing now towards cities and towns. Streets were returned into lakes and rivers and homes and businesses swept away. And it comes just as Ukraine is beginning its long-planned counteroffensive to retake territory held by Russia.

The blast smashed through the dam wall causing a massive breach as one section collapsed completely sending torrents of water surging towards the southern city of Kherson less than fifty miles away. Homes partially submerged, some even floating away and once fertile agricultural grounds now a soggy wasteland. The flooding has forced the evacuation of thousands of people. Some fled under fire. Others scrambled to protect their animals. The dam holds back a reservoir containing about the same volume of water as the Great Salt Lake in Utah and it is important for the safe running of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which is also Kremlin controlled. The United Nation’s atomic energy body says that plant is safe for now. But Ukraine is furious from official outrage in Kiev with President Z accusing Russia of a brutal war crime to anger and loathing in Kherson.