live from washington. this is bbc news. mass evacuation across ukraine as a major dam is breached. russia and ukraine each blame the other. translation: such deliberate acts by the russian destruction of the dam is an environmental bomb of mass destruction. prime minister rishi sunak is set to arrive in washington kicking off a 2—day trip where he will meet with us presidentjoe biden. hello, i'm sumi somaskanda. after the destruction of part of a crucial dam in southern ukraine, thousands of people have been forced to evacuate towns and villages to escape rising flood waters. the dam sits between russian—held territory to the south — and ukrainian territory to the north.

the dam is a significant resource, supplying water to a host of communities as well as to europe's largest nuclear power station at zaporizhzhia. this dam is over the dnieper river, between areas controlled by russian and ukrainian armies in the south of ukraine. this video — tweeted by ukraine's president zelensky — shows the breached kakhovka hydro—electric dam. according to the newspaper the kyiv independent, the ukrainian government has announced it will allocate more than $40 million for constructing new water mains after the dam breach. russia claims ukraine is behind the damage, while — president zelensky blames russia. translation: the whole world will know about this russian - war crime, the crime of genocide. such deliberate acts by the russian occupiers of the dam and other structures such as the power plant is an environmental bomb of mass destruction. for the sake of its own security the world should know

now that russia cannot get away with it stacked x. —— these tactics. the destruction of the dam comes as reports of the long—awaited ukrainian counter—offensive entering its initial stages. this video from ukraine's military, released in the last few days, referred to the counter offensive — and confirmed there would not be an announcement about the start. now, 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. our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse has spent the day travelling the area affected by the dam. a breach of a barrier designed to protect. this is the major kakhovka dam, failing to contain a reservoir resembling a sea. the waters of ukraine's dnipro river surge downstream,

towards dozens of towns and villages. this is effectively a front line, which separates territory ukraine controls and russia occupies. close to the dnipro's mouth is the city of kherson. officials are worried this flooding could become catastrophic. when our team arrived this afternoon, it didn't take long to find out what life here is like. "it's dangerous," says katalina. then... explosion. russia may have retreated here last year, but they're not far away. it takes a lot in these parts to make people leave. fast, fast, fast, fast, fast. 0k. back upstream, you can't really see what's left of the dam and hydroelectric plant. so, who did this? russia controls this area, but blames ukraine. kyiv is in no doubt.

translation: the kakhovka hydroelectric power station. l it was an absolutely deliberate, prepared explosion. they knew exactly what they were doing. translation: tonight, | the kyiv regime comitted another terrorist crime. the kakhovka hydroelectric dam was blown up, which led to the flooding of significant territories. so what is the significance of the nova kakhovka dam? it supplies water to huge swathes of agricultural land, including in crimea. and the reservoir behind it provides water to cool the zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant further up river. both areas are under russian control. the reservoir is huge. the dnipro river is especially wide here — 150 miles long, and up to ia miles across. this is what the dam looks like undamaged. our colleagues at bbc verify say this image of a smaller breach was taken just days ago — but since early this morning, this is what the dam has turned into. thousands of people

are at risk from flooding. whole villages are underwater. here, the landscape is transformed. whoever destroyed the dam knew this would happen, and decided it was worth it. one ukrainian mp watched as the river burst its banks. "you can see how the water is coming up every second," he says. "it's starting to rise." ukraine has been ravaged by becoming a giant battlefield. a country forever remoulded, and now a region partially submerged. james waterhouse, bbc news, kherson. as we said, russia blames ukrainian saboteurs for the explosion. our russia editor, steve rosenberg has this on those claims. well, today, we heard from the russian defence minister, who came out and claimed that the ukrainian counteroffensive that actually started three days

ago, and he made a bold claim, saying that russia had thwarted the counteroffensive, and came up with all kinds of figures, claiming that more than 3000 ukrainian soldiers had been killed, he said that 71 russian soldiers had been killed over the last three days. we cannot confirm those figures and we have to be very careful about figures. we are not sure how accurate those are. but russian officials claimed that the ukrainian counteroffensive has got bogged down, but they provided no evidence for that, so i think we should be cautious about those claims. as both sides continue to point fingers at each other, we spoke with hanna shelest, the editor in chief of ukraine analytica, on who is behind the breach and if ukraine's counteroffense is really under way. thank you very much forjoining us. i want to start with the dam explosion. some military analysts, including michael kofman, the director of russian

studies, who has been speaking to the new york times as it is too early to assign blame because this disaster benefits nobody. do you agree? unfortunately i disagree. you can have your opinion and you cannot have your facts, and the facts are that the dam was heavily mined by russian forces that have effectively controlled it since april last year, and they proudly demonstrated it. after the liberation of kherson city, kharkova was expected to be the next, and they demonstrated the second stage of heavily mining this dam. so they have been preparing for this, and on a lot of social networks that we are monitoring, they've been discussing the russian military under which conditions when the ukrainian counteroffensive they need to blow up.

the question is that definitely they were not ready to do such a big blow up in such consequences. probably what they expected that it will be much smaller, and the only thing they will do, theyjust flood the small islands that are nearby in the middle of the river, where the ukrainian forces already found their positions within the last month. we see from the interception, from the communication, from our partisans of the occupied territories that the primary goal was not to allow ukrainian forces to cross the dnipro river. near kharkova. so russia definitely benefits in this. let's say they expected to benefit in this way. so do you think this will then limit key of�*s ability to carry out this counteroffensive, particularly in the south and the east? for the east that means nothing because that definitely was not the way to liberate the donetsk region for example, and even for the zaporizhzhia region, if you look at the map, the main occupied town, it is much more

to the north, so the counteroffensive is still absolutely possible. and what we heard today from one of the chief commandos, it is not changing the plans of the ukrainian armed forces. definitely that will have significant influence to the south of kherson region, and here it is notjust for the military plans. the question is now that the primary goal is to do something with this disaster. we are talking about hundreds of thousands of people that are currently under the negative consequences of this blow—up. so does that specifically mean that in this region around kherson, the russian occupied areas, that it will be difficult for ukrainian forces to liberate these areas? no, because the russian forces managed to flood their own positions as well. and if you look to the map, the so—called left bank, even more impacted by this flood,

because it is lower than the right bank, and what we are seeing now that it is the so—called first line of the defence is already totally flooded. so the russian forces are urgently evacuating from there. by the way, two or three days before this tragedy, in the villages around the left bank, the russian soldiers have been stealing the boats of the local population, so they've been preparing for something. the question is that i put into the videos we already have, it seems like not all of them were notified during the night, so during the day, there are a lot of boats just around the river full of russian soldiers, or russian soldier sitting in the trees and waiting for evacuation. so that definitely also will make the russian forces to withdraw further from the left bank, and let's see where they will go, either to crimea or further to the east of the kherson region. great to have you on our show. thanks forjoining us. thank you.

around the world and across the uk, this is bbc news. all boat operations from bournemouth pier have been suspended as a precaution following the deaths of a 12—year—old girl and a 17—year—old boy last week. sunnah khan and joe abbess died in hospital after an incident last week. an inquest heard a suggestion that a rip—tide led to the pair drowning. the cbi, which represents thousands of british businesses, won the backing of its members for a series of proposed reforms after a crisis that threatened its future. 93% of those who voted supported the plans. it follows a series of allegations of serious sexual misconduct which prompted many businesses to end memberships. the government hasn't said if it'll re—engage with the cbi. prince harry faced nearly five hours of questioning at the high court from lawyers representing mirror group newspapers. he's accused the publisher of "utterly vile" behaviour, saying journalists used unlawful tactics — including phone hacking — to gather stories about him. he becomes the first senior

royal to give evidence in a legal case since the 1890s. you're live with bbc news. uk prime minister rishi sunak will touch down in washington shortly, kicking off a two—day trip where he will meet with president biden, members of congress, and even attend a baseball game. on the agenda — deepening trade ties with the us, regulating ai, and showing britain's long—time ally that it still has a role to play on the global stage. for more on the trip, we're joined by alistair dawber, the washington correspondent for the times of london. good to see you and thank you forjoining us tonight. what do you think the biggest prime priority for the prime minister will be? i priority for the prime minister will be? ~' ., , ., will be? i think he wants to come to — will be? i think he wants to come to washington, - will be? i think he wants to come to washington, he i will be? i think he wants to - come to washington, he should be arriving about now, and talk about the things that are important to both the us and the uk. he wants to talk about

ukraine, he is going to turn out about countering the effect of ai i think he will want to getjoe biden and the american administration's support for these fronts. i think he wants to ensure the closeness that the us in the uk have developed over ukraine over the past 18 months continues. something very keen to do as well, his government really does want the defence secretary to be the next nato secretary general. thatjob, probably in autumn and there is competition so i think rishi sunak will be trying to persuadejoe biden to get the americans behind the nomination.— get the americans behind the nomination. ~ . ., ., , nomination. what about on this and for the _ nomination. what about on this and for the biden _ and for the biden administration? how important

apartment that make how important a partner is the uk after brexit?— important a partner is the uk after brexit? when we hear the secial after brexit? when we hear the special relationship _ after brexit? when we hear the special relationship a _ after brexit? when we hear the special relationship a lot, - after brexit? when we hear the special relationship a lot, i - special relationship a lot, i think that is said more in the uk than it is in the us. but i still think britain is important to the united states and i think rishi sunak comes with a little more goodwill than perhaps his predecessors. the windsor agreement for northern ireland has settled american nerves and i think things like aukus, the deal over nuclear submarines and five eyes, i think they also play into britain's role as a supporter of the united states and foreign policy. i think thatis and foreign policy. i think that is important.- that is important. you mentioned _ that is important. you mentioned one - that is important. you mentioned one of - that is important. you | mentioned one of rishi that is important. you mentioned one of rishi sunak's priorities is al regulation. how do you think the us use

rishi sunak pitching london as a global leader on setting standards for al? n a global leader on setting standards for al?- a global leader on setting standards for al? i think we will see during _ standards for al? i think we will see during the - standards for al? i think we will see during the course l standards for al? i think we | will see during the course of the trip, and it is something that rishi sunak will raise with joe that rishi sunak will raise withjoe biden in the oval office on thursday, i think it is something that britain feels it can bring to the table. it is a tech centre with a lot of tech innovation so that may be welcomed by the americans. they want a partner, someone who can carry some of the burden meeting the challenge of ai and i think that would probably welcome britain's willingness to step up and play a leading role. whether or not there would be anything remains to be seen. the british want senior americans to come along and make a substantive event but the americans generally will welcome it.—

welcome it. and what about ossible welcome it. and what about possible photo _ welcome it. and what about| possible photo opportunities for the british prime minister? he's going to the baseball game we understand he will not be following the first each. it seems to have been a bit of a debate over whether or not he does through the first pitch. i think he was invited to and for whatever reason he declined. that said, i think there will be plenty of photo ops, he is getting red carpet treatment, he will be living in the guest house opposite the white house and then there will be a press conference on thursday afternoon. so there will not be afternoon. so there will not be a lack of photo opportunities. great to talk to you. let's take a look at some of the other news. here in the us, two people have been shot dead and five others wounded after a gunman opened fire in a park in richmond, virginia on tuesday as high school graduates and theirfamilies left a commencement ceremony. virginia police have arrested a suspect, a 19—year—old man,

and plan to charge him with two counts of second—degree murder in addition to other possible offences. former newjersey governor chris christie is the latest republican to throw his hat into the us presidential race. this marks his second bid at the white house after vying for the gop nomination in 2016. considered a long shot to win the nomination, christie was an advisor to the party's current frontrunner, donald trump, before the two fell out over trump's refusal to accept his defeat tojoe biden in 2020. a british woman says andrew tate choked her until she lost consciousness while they were having sex and then subjected her to threatening behaviour. the woman, who was 20 at the time, says she first met the controversial social media influencer in august 2014. tate said he "vehemently denies" the allegations against him. golf's pga tour has agreed to merge with the saudi arabian—backed rival circuit liv golf in a deal that is set to end a contentious split in the multibillion—dollar sport.

the surprise announcement comes after a year of disruption in the men's game following liv�*s launch. it means pending litigation between the tours will now be halted and they will move forward as a larger enterprise. 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. our 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 about journalists 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's being 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 did not 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 kind of articles. it caused him paranoia and distress, led him to dump friends, even to distrust his own brother, william, when a disagreement leaked. mgn denies phone hacking and unlawful information gathering for the articles under scrutiny, in a civil trial in which a judge, not a jury, will decide, explains this lawyer. on 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?

that they're weighing up just to see where that balance tilts so it is 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. for the best part of the five hours inside here, —— it has been an intense day for prince harry. the first time a senior royal has been cross—examined in more than a century, and there is more to come tomorrow. katie razzall, bbc news. from outside one court in london to another in the us, where a federaljudge is hearing an appeal today from a conservative think tank that wants to have prince harry's us immigration records made public following revelations of past drug use. the duke wrote of using marijuana, cocaine and psychedelic mushrooms in his memoir spare, which was released injanuary.

killing all passengers and crew on board. ukraine and russia have been going had had at the top united nations court over moscow's alleged backing of the progression separatists blamed for this disaster. that is at the international court of justice have been hearing ukraine's claim that moscow violated a un antiterrorism treaty by equipping and funding progression forces who international investigations concluded shot dally ms —— eleanor with a missile. our corresponding reports. these sides spend the entire day sitting side—by—side inside the peace palace, to the international court ofjustice. this case centred on hostilities of almost a decade ago but ukraine's eight and began by basing them firmly in the present with the references to the breaching of the dam in ukraine. he says that russia

was a terrorist state, that russia could not defeat them on the battlefield, so it targets a civilian infrastructure and claimed the breaching of the dam constituted part of a long—running campaign to wipe out his country. he told the judges that were witnessing today didn't begin with russia's full—scale invasion of ukraine in 2022, but rather, that deliberate instigation of an armed insurrection back in 2014 designed to bring down the ukrainian government. they argue numerous atrocities, the indiscriminate shelling of a billion neighbourhoods in places like maripol and kramatorsk in 2014, the shooting down of the passenger jet flight ma 17, killing all 298 people on board would not have happened without russia's involvement. the financing of these groups, supplying them with the weapons, and it also talks about a cultural erasure

in crimea, accuses russia of discriminating clear dating intimidation and terror among all non—russian ethnic groups on the crimean peninsular after it was annexed by russia. now, russia has denied all human rights abuses committed during the occupational within the occupied territories, and will have a chance to present its arguments later this week. decisions by un's highest court are binding but it not have any powers of enforcement. judges�*s decision is expected within months. anna holligan reported on a story for us there. now to another story we want to bring you from france. and i pension reform protesters stormed the headquarters of the paris 2424 olympic games on tuesday. that

comes as trade unions made a last gasp attempt to pressure lawmakers into reversing the president's raising of the retirement age. trade unions have with omicron's moved to make the french work for longer with ongoing strikes and protests, but until now, the president has stood firm five justly behind his plan. pope francis has checked out of rome's hospital after a check—up. the vatican has not commented on the reason for the visit but the 86—year—old has had a number of health issues this year, and in march, he was treated for bronchitis. that is our show at this hour. we will be back at the top of the next hour with more on the destruction of the crucial diamonds on ukraine. as we heard, people forced to evacuate towns and villages to escape rising floodwaters. we will bring you more interviews and analysis on that story. thank you for watching.

hello, there. you've probably noticed the weather not really changing very much over recent times, and that's because high pressure's been firmly dominating. and with high pressure around, it's not rained very much anywhere. but in warwickshire, in church lawford, you have to go back to may 11 — that was the last time it rained — so that's nearly four weeks of dry weather. some of the warmest weather has been across in northern ireland, county tyrone. it's been very warm in castlederg for the last nine days, but five of these recent days have seen temperatures reach 24 degrees — that's six above average. now, it's the west that had the highest temperatures again on tuesday, but england, stuck underneath this area of cloud, had much lower temperatures in many areas — for example, in leek, in staffordshire, 18 degrees on monday, 12 degrees on tuesday. we also had some cloud dropping the temperatures in parts of west scotland as well. now, over the next few hours, we're seeing that cloud again

thicken up across parts of england, wales, northern and eastern scotland. you might find a few spots of drizzle, although predominantly, it will be a dry start to the day on wednesday. the best of the early—morning sunshine, like recent times, will be across these western areas of the country. could be a few mist patches clearing and lifting, and then the sunshine comes out. i think there is a better chance of seeing this cloud break up across the midlands, east wales, so you probably will see some sunshine. but there could be some areas of eastern england again that keep the cloud all day. where that happens, temperatures into the teens — but otherwise, i think more of us will see temperatures into the low 20s. and with those sunny conditions out west, we'll see some very high levels of pollen building in across parts of england and wales, so it could be quite a sneezy day for hay—fever sufferers allergic to grass pollen. now, for thursday, again, there could be a bit of cloud around across eastern areas — probably east scotland, northeast england, the favoured spots for holding on to that. but otherwise, plenty of sunshine around, and those temperatures again reaching the mid—20s in the very warmest areas. we then do start to see a change,

courtesy of this storm system — storm oscar — that's been bringing some torrential rain to madeira. what that's going to do — it moves to the southwest of the uk, and it shoves a load of humid air across the country. and so, we'll see a change in the weather conditions as we head into the weekend. as it turns more humid, we'll start to see some showers and thunderstorms break out. and although the rain from these will be hit and miss in nature, some could see the first significant rain for four weeks.