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 kakhovka 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 the sea. by lunch time 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 defence minister, sergei shoigu. that is that, as far as moscow is concerned, this was a terrorist attack by ukraine.

welcome to the programme. thousands of people are being evacuated in southern ukraine, where the destruction of the russian—controlled nova kakhovka dam has caused extensive flooding. but it's uncertain who is responsible. joining me on my panel tonight for the next hour, will be gillian tett, editor at large, us financial times. and nathalie tocci director for institute of international affairs rome. also tonight: prince harry has been in court. accusing mirror group newspapers of hacking into his voicemails when he was a teenager. the new liv golf tour threatened to split the world of golf. now it's going to merge with the existing pga tour. what does it mean for the game? and — he used to tell people to vote for donald trump — now he's running against him for the republican presidential nomination. we'll weigh up the white house

chances of chris christie. we start in ukraine. and let's begin with that breaking news in the last hour that a us official has told the bbc�*s partner us network cbs that it is accurate to say that the ukraine counter offensive is in its opening phases but that the main thrust has not yet begun. we'll have more on this in the next few minutes with a defence analyst. but now the attack on the dam. un security council meeting in next hour. we're going to do two things. look at scale of damage. and ask our experts who's most likely to have done this.

this is the kakhovka dam. water flowing through. 40,000 people being evacuated. 80 towns and villages impacted. these images from areas downstream. water levels could rise 12 metres. said one russian official. let's hearfrom ukrainian mp who's there. this direction is the dam of kakhovka 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. 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 site have been informed that the damage to the kakhovka 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. those are the potential impacts and damage. so who attacked the dam? bbc verify has established there was already some damage to the dam, even before today. take a look at these images.

damage on ist ofjune seen there. then three days later a bit more. then on to this morning, almost completely wiped out. 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 kakhovka 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 underwater. evacuation has already begun. and 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. un security council meeting in new york. we can show you these pictures there, and the cause for this emergency meeting from the early hours of this morning. in ukraine. certainly you can see it is going ahead right now. our team here keeping abreast of that and we will be listening to that to see as and

what comes out of it and will bring you that when we do. as for the international community — so far, it seems, they haven't found any conclusive proof. here'sjohn kirby, from the us national security council, briefing reporters at the white house. we've seen the reports that russia was responsible for the explosion at the dam, which i would remind, russian forces took over illegally last year and have been occupying since then. we are doing the best we can to assess those reports and are working with ukrainians to gather more information. but we cannot say conclusively what happened at this point. nothing conclusive gets out of the us. i want to go back to the us officials telling the us bbc partner network cbs news that the ukraine counteroffensive is in its opening phases but the main thrust has not yet begun. with me now is a defence

and is, former bbc correspondent jonathan marcus, wassup thanks for coming on programme. what do you make up this announcement is under way but not the main thrust? i make up this announcement is under way but not the main thrust?- way but not the main thrust? i think that's correct _ way but not the main thrust? i think that's correct. i _ way but not the main thrust? i think that's correct. i think— way but not the main thrust? i think that's correct. i think there - way but not the main thrust? i think that's correct. i think there was - that's correct. i think there was who will gather pace over the coming days and weeks, i think what you are seen at the moment are probing attacks. efforts to try and pin some russian forces, to perhaps move other russian reserve units around. remember, the russians have known that this offensive is coming. in their own way they're prepared for it, they have dug it out of prepared defensive. their problem is they don't have sufficient manpower to really defend all those defence lines and many of the troops they have deployed there are rather poor quality. so, thejob for the ukrainians is to try and, 0k, they don't have surprise and offensive is coming but they need to create some

surprise as to where their main thrust will follow. so, i think what we're seeing as they are saying no, our preliminary operations to prior the major attack wassup bite preliminary, is it simply as you just try and advance on various different areas of the russian defences and you see which ones look pretty solid, which ones perhaps aren't, and you go with the ones that aren't? fir aren't, and you go with the ones that aren't?— aren't, and you go with the ones that aren't? or do the ukrainians already have _ that aren't? or do the ukrainians already have a — that aren't? or do the ukrainians already have a plan _ that aren't? or do the ukrainians already have a plan for _ that aren't? or do the ukrainians already have a plan for that - already have a plan for that second stage of where they really will attack? i stage of where they really will attack? ~ , stage of where they really will attack? ~' , ., stage of where they really will attack? ~' , . . ., , attack? i think they have clearly, i'm sure a _ attack? i think they have clearly, i'm sure a detailed _ attack? i think they have clearly, i'm sure a detailed plan. - attack? i think they have clearly, i'm sure a detailed plan. the - i'm sure a detailed plan. the ukrainians have ones extraordinary advantage which is the western and american supplied intelligence on russian deployments and positions. so, it's not a sort of hit and miss, trial by error arguments are pro she suggested. there is an element of that said, of course, things happen and it's a dynamic operation. both

sides have a role to play but they would have a good idea of where russian forces are positioned and particularly where the better russian forces, like the airborne units and so on, who are often used as a kind of fire brigade by the areas of greatest pressure. so, they would be probing and looking for weaknesses, and there will be trying to see how the russian forces themselves respond to the initial attacks, which may, of course, as i say, a dynamic process, many open up other avenues of advance.— other avenues of advance. thank you, jonathan other avenues of advance. thank you, jonathan for — other avenues of advance. thank you, jonathan for coming _ other avenues of advance. thank you, jonathan for coming in _ other avenues of advance. thank you, jonathan for coming in the _ jonathan for coming in the programme. so will get to our panel involved though, specifically about the events at the dam because it's an extraordinary event in and of itself and beat, wejust had some new lines on it from ukraine's president zelensky. describing the destruction

of the dam as, quotes, and environmental bomb of mass destruction. he says the events here, which she blames on russia, amount to an environmental bomb of mass destruction. that's bringing our panel, gillian and nathalie, gillian if i can come to your verse. what you make of resident zielinski describing it as an environmental bomb of mass destruction. certainly not under planned events here. he’s not under planned events here. he's riaht, it's not under planned events here. he's right. it's not _ not under planned events here. he's right, it's notjust _ not under planned events here. he�*s right, it's notjust an environmental drum it's an economic problem. the area flooded is crucial for ukrainian agriculture. if you did notjust ukraine but other parts of the world. the damage will be horrific and costly to fix. the other thing from the american point of view, sitting in america right now, is that the us intelligence and foreign services indicated that they have intelligence indicating that russia did this and are likely to,

actually, release it publicly in the same way they did at the beginning of the ukrainian invasion back in february 2020. to try and show people what is going on. february 2022. so, essentially, we are waiting to see what comes out of washington in the coming hours, and in the aftermath of what is likely to be american intelligence indicating that russia did this, which does appear to be the more likely inclination, we don't know yet. it raises questions. what happens to the agriculture of ukraine and what it means for global food supplies? secondly, what about crimea? crime he has lost its water source and though it says 80% of its reservoirs are full for agriculture it won't be enough. thirdly, what with the west do in response to this? it does raise the ante once again? how will ukrainians uses are

not used this in terms of the looming counteroffensive? and that that point we don't know.— that point we don't know. president zelensky trying _ that point we don't know. president zelensky trying to _ that point we don't know. president zelensky trying to get _ that point we don't know. president zelensky trying to get ahead - that point we don't know. president zelensky trying to get ahead of- that point we don't know. president zelensky trying to get ahead of that and saying it won't impact any plans but we can't be certain on that. can i bring you in nathalie, what was your reaction to see those pictures first thing this morning of the dam being reached?— first thing this morning of the dam being reached? yes, i mean, we're basically talking _ being reached? yes, i mean, we're basically talking about _ being reached? yes, i mean, we're basically talking about a _ basically talking about a catastrophe of massive proportions. whether_ catastrophe of massive proportions. whether we are looking at at it from the angle _ whether we are looking at at it from the angle of a number of people displaced alongside the millions that are — displaced alongside the millions that are already out of place. we're talking _ that are already out of place. we're talking about tens of thousands of people _ talking about tens of thousands of mate if— talking about tens of thousands of people. if were looking at it from the environmental perspective, we are hearing about a tonnes of oil being _ are hearing about a tonnes of oil being spilt — are hearing about a tonnes of oil being spilt in the water or if we look_ being spilt in the water or if we took at — being spilt in the water or if we took at it— being spilt in the water or if we look at it through the nuclear angle — look at it through the nuclear angle it _ look at it through the nuclear angle. it looks like zaporizhzhia for the — angle. it looks like zaporizhzhia for the time being angle. it looks like zaporizhzhia forthe time being is angle. it looks like zaporizhzhia for the time being is relatively safe, —

for the time being is relatively safe, but— for the time being is relatively safe, but we heard comments and we don't _ safe, but we heard comments and we don't know_ safe, but we heard comments and we don't know what the indications will be for— don't know what the indications will be for the _ don't know what the indications will be for the cooling of the nuclear power _ be for the cooling of the nuclear power plants. so, whatever angle was because _ power plants. so, whatever angle was because it _ power plants. so, whatever angle was because it this is the absolute catastrophe. as for the question, who did _ catastrophe. as for the question, who did it— catastrophe. as for the question, who did it and therefore why was it done? _ who did it and therefore why was it done? it _ who did it and therefore why was it done? it really does seem that a given— done? it really does seem that a given that — done? it really does seem that a given that there is a counteroffensive, which as we were hearing. _ counteroffensive, which as we were hearing. in — counteroffensive, which as we were hearing, in its opening stages, it's very clearly — hearing, in its opening stages, it's very clearly that it is russia that has a _ very clearly that it is russia that has a greater interest in having done _ has a greater interest in having done this— has a greater interest in having done this rather than obviously ukraine — done this rather than obviously ukraine. ., , ., ., ukraine. can i “ump in nathalie, because ukraine. can ijump in nathalie, because we've _ ukraine. can ijump in nathalie, because we've we _ ukraine. can ijump in nathalie, because we've we presume - ukraine. can ijump in nathalie, because we've we presume that j ukraine. can ijump in nathalie, - because we've we presume that this was russia behind it, if that us intelligence that gillian was talking about does come out to support that, if we work on that hypothesis at the moment, does this teach us anything about russia's tactics or its state of play in conflict? i

tactics or its state of play in conflict? ~ . tactics or its state of play in conflict?— tactics or its state of play in conflict? ~ ., , , conflict? i think in a sense it confirms _ conflict? i think in a sense it confirms what _ conflict? i think in a sense it confirms what people - conflict? i think in a sense it| confirms what people already conflict? i think in a sense it - confirms what people already know and what _ confirms what people already know and what we already know is that russia _ and what we already know is that russia is — and what we already know is that russia is willing to do whatever it takes _ russia is willing to do whatever it takes in _ russia is willing to do whatever it takes in terms of the humanitarian, or in— takes in terms of the humanitarian, or in this _ takes in terms of the humanitarian, or in this case also ecological disaster. _ or in this case also ecological disaster, and that his actions may cause _ disaster, and that his actions may cause in— disaster, and that his actions may cause. in order to, disaster, and that his actions may cause. in orderto, essentially, not necessarily— cause. in orderto, essentially, not necessarily in case of the counteroffensive, it will not stop that but — counteroffensive, it will not stop that but simply to make life harder for that— that but simply to make life harder for that ukrainian counteroffensive. even at _ for that ukrainian counteroffensive. even at the — for that ukrainian counteroffensive. even at the cost of what, in principle, _ even at the cost of what, in principle, it considers to be its own— principle, it considers to be its own citizens in crimea. as we were here _ own citizens in crimea. as we were here and _ own citizens in crimea. as we were here and just — own citizens in crimea. as we were here and just now, obviously this would _ here and just now, obviously this would also — here and just now, obviously this would also have massive implications, potentially on crimea as well _ implications, potentially on crimea as well i_ implications, potentially on crimea as well. i think confirms in essence what _ as well. i think confirms in essence what we _ as well. i think confirms in essence what we already know, which is the fact that _ what we already know, which is the fact that russia is prepared to go to any— fact that russia is prepared to go to any length whatsoever in order to, even— to any length whatsoever in order to, even personally, accomplish its

objectives — to, even personally, accomplish its objectives or deter objectives of the other— objectives or deter objectives of the other side. as the consequences we draw— the other side. as the consequences we draw from it, it confirms what we already— we draw from it, it confirms what we already know. we need to get ukraine what it needs in order to win this war because unless it wins this war more of— war because unless it wins this war more of this— war because unless it wins this war more of this would happen. great to net our more of this would happen. great to get your thoughts — more of this would happen. great to get your thoughts gillian _ more of this would happen. great to get your thoughts gillian and - get your thoughts gillian and nathalie, will get more in a moment but for the moment thank you for that. 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. we will pause as our reviewers around the world rejoin us. 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. prince harry back in court tomorrow and will have coverage of that. while we are watching that, the pictures live from new york, the reason we are there, we are keeping

an eye on a un security council session after the attack on the dam in ukraine. many in ukraine calling for that un security council to discuss it. that is what is happening right now and we have heard from russia's un envoy, which says deliberate sabotage of ukraine dam is extremely dangerous and is a war. so, russia sticking to its line from early on that this was sabotage ljy from early on that this was sabotage by ukrainian forces and russia's un envoy seen deliberate sabotage of ukraine dam is extremely dangerous. so, we would be keeping across more words as they come at of new york for you. a surprise merger has been announced this afternoon to try to heal a bitter split in the world of golf. the pga tour has agreed to merge with the saudi—backed liv circuit — after a year of unprecedented

disruption in the men's game. in a joint statement the pga tour and dp world tour and saudi public investment fund hailed "a landmark agreement to unify the game of golf, on a global basis.. a new collectively owned, for—profit entity. "the pga tour, dp world tour and pif will work together to best feature and grow team golf going forward..." "notably, today's announcement will be followed by a mutually agreed end to all pending litigation between participating parties." the ceo of the pga european tour keith pelley called the agreement �*historic�*. it means that ourselves, the pga tour, and liv golf will merge our commercial operations under common ownership. there is no question, no question, this united front has the potential to positively shape the future of golf. and of course, it also marks the end of the division in our game, and the start of a new chapter in its evolution.

we're joined now by the bbc�*s golf correspondent iain carter. great to see you. what a choice. did not see it coming and i'm not alone. the parties trying to get this done where very few in his number did an extraordinaryjob to keep it under wraps. when the e—mail dropped to announcement, similarly letters were sent out to pga tour players who were gathered in canada and it came to as a huge shock to them. we saw their responses on social media today. pm their responses on social media toda . �* .,., ., , ., ., today. an extraordinary turnaround. what does it — today. an extraordinary turnaround. what does it mean _ today. an extraordinary turnaround. what does it mean for— today. an extraordinary turnaround. what does it mean for the _ today. an extraordinary turnaround. what does it mean for the game? . today. an extraordinary turnaround. . what does it mean for the game? good cuestion. it what does it mean for the game? good question. it means _ what does it mean for the game? good question. it means and _ what does it mean for the game? (limo. question. it means and end to the bitterness, to a degree, although there are lots of friendships that have been burned over the past year and players who turned down massive

offers of signing on fees by the saudi arabians to stick with the establishment. how are they feeling today because they could have prompted enough weight many of their rivals did. their rivals now getting a pathway back into the establishment game as well and we have no detail at this stage as to how it will pan out in terms of the liv tour, which is a t method and plays under different rounds. so many questions remain unanswered at this stage. you many questions remain unanswered at this stare. ., , , _ many questions remain unanswered at thisstaue. ., , , _ , , this stage. you will be busy because this stage. you will be busy because this cotton so _ this stage. you will be busy because this cotton so many _ this stage. you will be busy because this cotton so many people - this stage. you will be busy because this cotton so many people by - this cotton so many people by surprise as you said, still to be released with details. we will wait for them and we know you will keep across from us about that. stay with us, i am just back in a few minutes. i us, i am just back in a few minutes. lam us, i am just back in a few minutes. i am lewis vaughanjones, 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 20s, 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.