The dam was destroyed on Tuesday, forcing thousands to flee their homes as water surged into the Dnipro River, flooding dozens of villages and parts of the city of Kherson and sparking fears of a humanitarian disaster.

“The dam was not bombed. It was destroyed by explosives installed in the areas where the turbines are located. This area is under Russian control,” Borrell told Spanish public television.

“I wasn’t there to find out who did it. But everything seems to indicate that if it took place in an area under Russian control, it is difficult to believe it could have been someone else,” he added.

“In any case, the consequences for Ukraine are terrible, from the humanitarian point of view for the displaced people, and from the environmental point of view because the (dam’s) destruction will cause an ecological disaster.”

At least five people died and 13 are missing in flooding after the breach, Ukraine’s interior minister Igor Klymenko said today in a social media post.

Flooding has already put 600sq km of land under water, according to a regional governor yesterday.