hello, i'm lewis vaughanjones. you're watching the context on bbc news. translation: today, russian terrorist have once again - proved they are a threat to everything living. last night, they blew up the dam of the khakovka hydroelectric power plant. at 2:50am this happened. it was an absolutely deliberate, prepared explosion. and here is the river. and the level is coming up because all these huge amounts of water which were stopped by the dam now is moving to to the sea. at lunch time people had seemed to agree on an official version we heard it from president putin's spokesman, dmitry peskov, we heard it from the defence minister, sergei shoigu. that is that, as far as moscow is concerned, this was a terrorist

attack by ukraine. welcome to the programme. in ukraine — president zelensky says the kakovka dam was mined by russian occupiers. russia says it was an act of ukrainian sabotage. we'll look who's most likely to have carried out the attack. also coming up. prince harry has been in court accusing mirror group newspapers of hacking into his voicemails when he was a teenager. the brain drain. nurses leaving ghana to come to countries like the uk. one nursing group says the situation is out of control. we start in ukraine and attack on the dam. un security council meeting in next hour.

we're going to look at two things. look at scale of damage. and ask our experts who's most likely to have done this. this is the kakovka dam. water flowing through. 40,000 people being evacuated. 80 towns and villages impacted. this video tweeted by zelensky. these images from areas downstream. water levels could rise 12 metres. said one russian official. let's hearfrom a ukrainian mp who's there. this direction is the dam of khakovka hydroelectric station. this direction is the black sea, and here is the river. and the level is coming up because all these huge amounts of water which were stopped by the dam now is moving to to the sea.

by the way, there is a smell of oil, machine oil, engine oil, because more than 150 tonnes of engine oil is in the water. engine oilfrom the dam. and maybe more will come because there is more than 300 tonnes. so this is a huge ecological catastrophe. with that, the consequences will last for decades after what had happened. and that is, again, according to geneva convention, such attacks on hydroelectric stations, it equals the use of mass destruction weaponry. the let's look at the lie of the land. it crosses the dnipro river. controlled by russia.

look upstream. zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. it needs a big pool of water for cooling. with the dam gone the reservoir will drop. here's the head of the un nuclear watchdog on that. the iaea staff on the sites have been informed that the damage to the khakovka dam is currently leading to about five cm per hour reduction in the heights of the reservoir. the team continues to monitor this rates and all other matters on the site. the main line of cooling water is fed from the reservoir and pumped up through channels near the thermal powered plant to the site. it is estimated that the water through this route should

last for a few days. so who attacked the dam? take a look at these images. bbc verify has established there was already some damage to the dam, even before today. ukraine is blaming russia. here's president zelensky. translation: today, russian terrorists have once again - proved they are a threat to everything living. last night, they blew up the dam of the khakovka hydroelectric power plant. at 2:50am this happened. it was an absolutely deliberate, prepared, explosion, they knew exactly what they were doing. just imagine the volume of water held by this dam.

it was one of the largest reservoirs in ukraine. the flooding of the southern regions of our country has been ongoing since this night. at least 100,000 people lived in these areas before the russian invasion. at least tens of thousands are still there, 80 towns and villages are under water and evacuation has begun. these are just the initial consequences. unfortunately, the tragedy is much broader. 0n the other hand. russia is blaming ukraine. 0ur russia editor steve rosenberg is in moscow. i remember seeing a reading, a report from the tass news agency on my phone about 6.30am this morning, which quoted the moscow imposed official in novikov saying that everything was peaceful and calm in the town. there was nothing going on at all. soon after that, another report from tass, quoting the same official saying, well, actually, no, there had been a terrorist attack during the night, missile strikes on the dam. his story completely changed.

and then tass reported a source in the security forces saying, "no, no missile strike". "the dam had just collapsed". by lunchtime people had seemed to agree on an official version of events here. we heard it from president putin's spokesman, dmitry peskov. we heard it from the defense minister, sergei shoigu. and that is that as far as moscow is concerned, this was a terrorist attack by ukraine on the dam, as mr peskov said, a deliberate act of sabotage by the ukrainian side. russian officials seem to link it to the ukrainian counter offensive, which moscow claims has been faltering. that is the official russian version of events. so 180 degrees from the version of events that ukraine is putting forward.

no complete or concrete answer behind who is on the attack on the dam and the white house says the same thing, no conclusive evidence. now the question becomes who would stand to gain much from this stop. vitaly shevchenko is russia editor at bbc monitoring. let me put that question to you. in your assessment, who gives the most by this? your assessment, who gives the most b this? ., , ., , ., ., by this? lots of fingers are now -aointin by this? lots of fingers are now pointing out _ by this? lots of fingers are now pointing out russia _ by this? lots of fingers are now pointing out russia and - by this? lots of fingers are now pointing out russia and it's - pointing out russia and it's undeniable that it does stand to benefit from what happens at khakovka. quite simply, this flooding limits ukraine's options for a concert offensive especially in the south, this huge river ukraine's largest and longest river, that the name pro, is much wider now thanit that the name pro, is much wider now than it used to be in southern personal and region, trying to cross

it using pontoons or trying to ship your heavy military hardware across this river is now going to be all but impossible for ukrainian forces which control the northern bank of the dnipro river and russia controls the dnipro river and russia controls the southern bank. will ukraine and if it anything at all from the flooding was your mark the only thing i can say is that it appears that some of russia's defensive positions in the region have also been cited. we have to remember that for ukraine, it's their country and their land and their people and it would take truly machiavellian levels of cynicism to carry out something like this. also, the price is absolutely enormous. ukraine has the effect with thousands of people,

tens of thousands of people, and then start to think about providing waterfor then start to think about providing water for people living upstream from the breached nova kakhovka dam. that's absolute fascinating, and there is a personal connection here, isn't there? you know this area well. �* , , , well. absolutely. i grew up in the area. well. absolutely. i grew up in the area- this — well. absolutely. i grew up in the area- this is— well. absolutely. i grew up in the area. this is where _ well. absolutely. i grew up in the area. this is where i _ well. absolutely. i grew up in the area. this is where i used - well. absolutely. i grew up in the area. this is where i used to - well. absolutely. i grew up in the area. this is where i used to live | area. this is where i used to live on the shores of nova kakhovka and its mind—boggling the size of this reservoir. locally it's known as the nova kakhovka seat because it's so big, if you stand on one shore you would not be up to see the other side. it stretches more than 200 km from the northeast to the southwest, and is terrifying to think that these huge amounts of water are now gushing downstream and also what

happens to the zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and the people would have to think about how they would have to think about how they would have to think about how they would have to survive this incredibly hot and dry summer in ukraine, as the nova kakhovka reservoir is drinking. that would be difficult for them. thank you for that vitaly shevchenko. just some breaking news in relation to ukraine that we just received from our washington bureau. a us official has told bbc�*s partner, us network, cbs news, that it's accurate to say that the ukraine culture offensive is in its opening phases but the main thrust has not yet begun. so, if you were with us yesterday, there was an increase in activity from the ukrainian side and we were trying to get to the bottom of whether or not this was the start of the counteroffensive are not. we had this from a us official who told the

bbc partner cbs news, that it is accurate to say that the ukraine counteroffensive is in its opening phases but that the main thrust has not yet begun. we'll get a bit more context on that for you a little later. but that coming from our washington bureau chief. joining me live now from stockholm is brian kuns, an agricultural scientists who has lived and studied in kherson. he knows the area around the ramp dam and the reservoir very well because were speaking just there about whose stood to gain the most by its destruction but now we can look now at the impact, potential impact, thank you for coming and programme. briefly, what was your reaction when he saw those pictures of the dam burst and the water flooding through. i of the dam burst and the water flooding through.—

of the dam burst and the water flooding through. i was shocked. i sent a flooding through. i was shocked. i spent a lot — flooding through. i was shocked. i spent a lot of— flooding through. i was shocked. i spent a lot of time _ flooding through. i was shocked. i spent a lot of time up _ flooding through. i was shocked. i spent a lot of time up and - flooding through. i was shocked. i spent a lot of time up and down . flooding through. i was shocked. i. spent a lot of time up and down the reservoir in dnipro, it's a beautiful area. just thinking about all the people that will suffer, i was in shock. even though i probably shouldn't have been surprised. we will come on to that in a minute but talk us through some, i suppose, the impact on things like agriculture. what is a damage that will be done here? �* . ~ , here? agriculture. i think we still have to wait _ here? agriculture. i think we still have to wait and _ here? agriculture. i think we still have to wait and see _ here? agriculture. i think we still have to wait and see how - here? agriculture. i think we still have to wait and see how much l here? agriculture. i think we still| have to wait and see how much of the dam is left. because it's still not, i still don't have clarity on if the reservoir will be emptied or not. i think there could be some of the reservoir left depending on how much of the dam is damaged. dependent on how much of the reservoir is left, that will decide the question of how much irrigation is there in the long

term. particularly what ukrainians called the left bank, the eastern side which is currently occupied by russian forces, there is hundreds of thousands of hectares of irrigation thatis thousands of hectares of irrigation that is dependent on water from the kakhovka reservoir and see. so, depending on how much of the dam is left, we will see what the future of irrigation is in the air.— irrigation is in the air. what about the wider impacts? _ irrigation is in the air. what about the wider impacts? if _ irrigation is in the air. what about the wider impacts? if we - irrigation is in the air. what about the wider impacts? if we work - irrigation is in the air. what about. the wider impacts? if we work on the hypothesis that the dam goes completely, pretty much an emptying of the reservoir, what are some of the knock on effects of that? then i think ou the knock on effects of that? then i think you would _ the knock on effects of that? then i think you would see _ the knock on effects of that? then i think you would see there - the knock on effects of that? then i think you would see there would . think you would see there would still be a little bit of irrigation in this part of southern ukraine on the mainland, because there are growing water sources and things like that but by and large irrigation would disappear. and,

this area gets very little rainfall, may be about 16 inches a year and it fluctuates and they are regular droughts and prior to the war there was a very, sort of, farmers had become very effective and productive and that sort of agriculture would disappear. a lots of livelihoods depend on its and a list of people worked in and around that and of course drinking water for tens of thousands of people in southern ukraine. also, of course, this is, you know, what seems crazy is crimea is dependent on water from the kakhovka reservoir so in the long term agriculture and crimea is also dependent on that irrigation and in the long term that would not be

possible either.— the long term that would not be possible either. fascinating stuff. and slightly _ possible either. fascinating stuff. and slightly worried _ possible either. fascinating stuff. and slightly worried as _ possible either. fascinating stuff. and slightly worried as well. - possible either. fascinating stuff. | and slightly worried as well. brian kuns thank you for your time. around the world and across the uk. this is bbc news. let's look at some of the other stories making headlines today. to bournemouth beach, where local authorities have suspended all boat operations off the pier following the death of two young swimmers. joe abbess, 17, and sunnah khan, 12, both died in hospital on wednesday. an inquest heard a "suggestion" a riptide led to the pair drowning. the independent mp — margaret ferrier — has been suspended from the commons for breaking covid rules. she was expelled from the snp in 2020, because she'd travelled on a train when she knew she had the virus. the covid inquiry�*s lead lawyer says problems with evidence provided to them by some government departments could disrupt progress.

the inquiry is currently locked in a legal battle with the cabinet office over whether unredacted messages between former prime minister — borisjohnson — and other officials during the pandemic should be handed to the inquiry. you're live with bbc news. prince harry has become the first senior member of the royal family to give evidence in court for 130 years, after taking to the witness stand in his civil case against mirror group newspapers. he's accused the publisher of using unlawful methods — including phone hacking — to get stories about him, something they deny. 0ur media editor, katie razzall, has been following the case at the high court in london and has this report. in a cul—de—sac in central london, the world's media... ..focused on itself and one man. others have settled claims over the years, but here was prince harry,

determined to have his day in court, telling those inside a packed court 15 and an overflow annex that every single article written about him had caused him distress and agreeing he had felt hostility to the media, even before he knew about their methods. he was asked about this line in his witness statement... prince harry told the court he was talking aboutjournalists responsible for causing a lot of pain, upset, the press in general. asked if he was in the witness box to put a stop to the madness, he replied, "that is my hope." harry's case is that specific articles in mirror group newspapers from 1996 to 2011 were based on phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering, often by private investigators. today, he has been questioned about them in detail. he says the journalist behind this story, about a visit from his mother on his 12th birthday, was a known user of private investigators. mgn's barrister told him

journalists could not have hacked his mobile phone, as he didn't have one back then. harry replied, "it could have been my mother's." "how could journalists know he was at the particular pub as reported in this article?", prince harry asks. "isn't it likely the celebrity chef owner contacted the paper?," mr green suggested. and mgn's barrister told him this story of a thumb injury had already been reported by the press association the day before. harry claims thatjust encouraged others to take stories further, using illicit methods for that extra information. he says he was often teased at school after these kinds of articles. it caused him paranoia and distress, led him to dump friends, even to distrust his own brother william on a disagreement leaked. mgn denies phone hacking and unlawful information gathering for the articles under scrutiny in a civil trial on which a judge, not a jury, will decide, says this lawyer. 0n the balance of probabilities, is it more likely than not that the mirror engaged in phone hacking?

or is it more likely than not that they didn't? they're weighing up to see where the balance tilts. so it's a slightly different standard, a lower standard, if you like. the prince also had sharp words for the former daily mirror editor, now tv presenter piers morgan, saying he makes him physically sick and that he wants to hold him and others accountable for their vile behaviour. mr morgan denies wrongdoing. it's been an intense day for prince harry, the first time a senior royal has been cross examined in more than a century. and there's more to come. joining me now isjonathan coad, media lawyer. thanks for coming on programme. you're welcome. 50 thanks for coming on programme. you're welcome.— thanks for coming on programme. you're welcome. so in a big day and nuts to pick — you're welcome. so in a big day and nuts to pick through. _ you're welcome. so in a big day and nuts to pick through. let's hand - you're welcome. so in a big day and nuts to pick through. let's hand it . nuts to pick through. let's hand it over to you. you're going through evidence. what stuck out to you today? evidence. what stuck out to you

toda ? �* , ' . ., evidence. what stuck out to you toda? �*, '. ., today? it's difficult to know where today? it's difficult to know where to start because _ today? it's difficult to know where to start because it's _ today? it's difficult to know where to start because it's so _ today? it's difficult to know where to start because it's so seismic. . today? it's difficult to know where l to start because it's so seismic. we must start with harry's own witness statement. 0ne must start with harry's own witness statement. one of the extraordinary things about this case it's a claim for privacy and that his privacy is being invaded by unlawful gathering of information but in order to bring this case, he had to set out in his witness statements all sorts of things which i'm sure he didn't want to put in there. but he's really set out his manifesto in that extraordinary allotment. he sets out what he is trying to do. as far as he is concerned, the country is blighted with a price that is completely irresponsible and completely irresponsible and completely unaccountable. he has made it his mission to take this on and his cross—examination was essentially the attempt by the mirror to defeat them. we have two powerful entities here. we have a warrior prince and a very powerful media organisation going head—to—head. i’m

media organisation going head-to-head. ., _ media organisation going head-to-head. �* ., _ ., head-to-head. i'm fascinated by what ou said head-to-head. i'm fascinated by what you said there — head-to-head. i'm fascinated by what you said there because _ head-to-head. i'm fascinated by what you said there because his _ head-to-head. i'm fascinated by what you said there because his general- you said there because his general manifesto which people watch watching at home may or may not agree with him but given his own personal circumstances and his personal circumstances and his personal history. this court case isn't about general principles, is it? it's about demonstration that certain stories were access in a certain stories were access in a certain way. that's what needs to come out of it?— come out of it? that's absolutely riuht. but come out of it? that's absolutely right- but as _ come out of it? that's absolutely right. but as far _ come out of it? that's absolutely right. but as far as _ come out of it? that's absolutely right. but as far as he _ come out of it? that's absolutely right. but as far as he is - come out of it? that's absolutely i right. but as far as he is concerned he is fighting a larger bottle, yes, this case is straightforward as someone you interviewed earlier who i trained, thejudge decides someone you interviewed earlier who i trained, the judge decides whether the claims are important or not. it's important to say that in harry's case he has many different cases, he asserted three and even if the mirror wins one he still has

one. as far as harry's going, it's clear from one. as far as harry's going, it's clearfrom his one. as far as harry's going, it's clear from his witness statement it's part of a bigger mission to try and hold the presto account in a way which no one else has the power to do. they don't have the status or the money. he is fighting the corner of the rest of a lot of people who suffer press abuse.— suffer press abuse. what do you think about _ suffer press abuse. what do you think about his _ suffer press abuse. what do you think about his performance - suffer press abuse. what do you think about his performance is l suffer press abuse. what do you - think about his performance is much as you can gather from its, think about his performance is much as you can gatherfrom its, actually answering those questions from the barrister? i answering those questions from the barrister? ~' , ., answering those questions from the barrister? ~ , ., ., , barrister? i think you did really well. barrister? i think you did really well- first _ barrister? i think you did really well. first of— barrister? i think you did really well. first of all, _ barrister? i think you did really well. first of all, he _ barrister? i think you did really well. first of all, he didn't - barrister? i think you did really well. first of all, he didn't rise| well. first of all, he didn't rise to being angry about it. he was calm and collected all the way through. he did all the right things byjust answering the questions. i don't think he was really wrong—footed, but importantly in one particular moment i think you did really well, because it barrister said what about this article, what in this article suggests you were the subject of unlawful information gathering? he said it was a flight details. the flight details are a security issue,

no one would find it so it legitimately and it has to have been flagged, and that seems to me something in a case which he had no answerfor. something in a case which he had no answer for-— answer for. fascinating, day two cominu answer for. fascinating, day two coming rip _ answer for. fascinating, day two coming up 10:30am _ answer for. fascinating, day two coming up 10:30am i _ answer for. fascinating, day two coming up 10:30am i think- answer for. fascinating, day two| coming up 10:30am i think you'll answer for. fascinating, day two . coming up 10:30am i think you'll be backin coming up 10:30am i think you'll be back in there. what are you looking out for? i back in there. what are you looking out for? ~' .,, ,., ., out for? i think the most important art of the out for? i think the most important part of the day _ out for? i think the most important part of the day is — out for? i think the most important part of the day is not _ out for? i think the most important part of the day is not the _ out for? i think the most important part of the day is not the martin . part of the day is not the martin morning but the afternoon. the morning but the afternoon. the morning will be much the same. they case trying to and undermined the princes case and his evidence and it won't be different from today. the explosions will be in the afternoon when the one the mirrorjourneys who has been prepared to turn up and answer questions will be cross—examined by david sherbourne. david sherborn is a man who destroyed rebecca vardy in the leg at the christie case and reduce her to tears twice. i can imagine he will be in more gentle to this the mirrorjourneys. so i think the sparks will be an afternoon. thank

ou, sparks will be an afternoon. thank you, fascinating _ sparks will be an afternoon. thank you, fascinating jonathan - sparks will be an afternoon. thank you, fascinating jonathan coad - sparks will be an afternoon. thank you, fascinating jonathan coad great to speak to you. just to mark your card also coming up, it another court case involving prince harry. from one court in london to another in the us, where a federaljudge is hearing an appeal from a conservative think tank — which wants to have prince harry's us immigration the news from ukraine, we are looking at it damage the dam that happened overnight but we had the news in from the us and the wording is important here sol news in from the us and the wording is important here so i will read it verbatim. us officials told the bbc partner network cbs news, that it is accurate to say the ukraine counteroffensive is in its opening phases but the main thrust has not yet begun. so that is not, specifically about the incident at the dam but more widely the

ukrainian counteroffensive. i am louis fost von jones this ukrainian counteroffensive. i am louis fost vonjones this is bbc news. hello. some parts of the uk have seen no significant rainfall in the best part of a month now, and before the end of the week, there is no significant rain to forecast. 0ur weather is very, very settled until at least friday thanks to this big area of high pressure. it moves around a bit and that will mean the places we see the thickest cloud may tend to change from day to day, but it isn't until we start to get this area of low pressure into play, right at the end of the week, that there's any significant wet weather in the forecast. where we are going into the early hours of wednesday is under that high, with cloud building back westwards again through the small hours. skies tending to stay clear towards the west of the uk and quite chilly, actually, where we have the clear skies overnight, particularly for the early part ofjune. 0vernight lows of just 5 or 6 degrees. as for wednesday daytime, well, very much like tuesday, we start with quite a bit of cloud

around, but the sun will tend to burn almost all of that back to just the north sea coasts as we get into the afternoon. for the north sea coasts, though, that cloud holds the temperatures back, 15 or 16 as highs. further west, more sunshine. we're looking at the low 205, perhaps the odd 2a, even 25 degrees. thursday, copy—paste, if you like. basically, we start again with more widespread cloud, and then it burns back to the east coast. butjust perhaps a slight change in wind direction could mean a few spots get a little bit more sunshine, so up to 17 degrees, for example, in norwich. but it's always towards the west where we get the most hours of sunshine and the most warmth in the next few days. thursday into friday, we start to see this low approaching the south—west. it's late on on friday, though, before it starts to really engage. and then through the weekend, it pushes up its weather fronts and it starts to also drag in with it some warmer, more humid airfrom the continent. so all those things coming together for us for the very end of the week and for the weekend,

what do they mean? well, friday is another fine day to come with some pretty widespread sunshine, but the humidity will start to rise to the south. but by the time we get into saturday and sunday, humidity will have risen right the way across the uk, as will have the temperatures. but those weather fronts coming in will start to upset things and it looks like we could see some really significant thunderstorms. some of the storms to come this weekend, in fact, could bring a month's worth of rain to some areas in a matter of a few hours.