An explosion Tuesday morning destroyed a strategic dam in a Russian-controlled area in southern Ukraine, flooding the area and forcing an evacuation. Ukraine accused “Russian terrorists” of the detonation. Russia blamed Ukraine.

Who is responsible? The Kakhovka dam is one of six along the Dnipro River. It is the only one controlled by Russian forces. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy predicted last October that Russia would explode it to cause flooding.

According to Ukraine’s Kherson Regional Military Administration, the water level will reach critical levels within five hours of the explosion. Previous estimates said, in the event of the dam’s failure, 4.8 billion gallons of water would be released. This has placed thousands of residents downstream under an evacuation order.

Al Jazeera’s Charles Stratford explained that destruction of the dam would also make it more difficult for Ukrainian forces to cross the Dnipro River to enter Crimea for an offensive ground position.

But some argue that Ukraine has as much cause to attack the dam as Russia does. The Kakhovka dam supplies water and irrigation to the Crimean Peninsula, which is Russian-occupied.

Furthermore, a total collapse in the dam could deprive the nearby Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant of the cooling it needs. If a nuclear reactor overheated, it could cause a nuclear meltdown and release massive amounts of radioactivity to surrounding areas.

How will it end? The Russo-Ukrainian war has lasted longer than most people, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, anticipated. It seems the crisis is a never-ending escalation of evil. However, as Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry has explained, there is tremendous hope in knowing Bible prophecy. Read his article “The Ukraine War Will Not Start World War III!”