Some 23 individuals have been injured as a result of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant’s dam collapsing and the flooding of the Kherson Region, medical services told TASS on Thursday.

"According to the latest data, 23 people have been injured, they have hypothermia and traumas, 21 individuals have been hospitalized," a source in the medical services said.

Ukrainian forces shelled the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) in the early morning hours on June 6, which resulted in the collapse of the hydraulic sluice gate valves on the plant’s dam, triggering an uncontrolled discharge of water. Water levels in Novaya Kakhovka reached 12 meters but are now receding. According to emergency services, there are 35 population centers and territories in the flood zone.

The residents of nearby communities are being evacuated. The destruction of the power generation facility has seriously damaged the environment, washing away farmland along the Dnieper River and threatening water levels in the North Crimean Canal. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that the attack on the Kakhovka HPP was a premeditated act of sabotage. He added that the responsibility for its consequences fully lies with the Kiev regime.

The damage caused by a collapsed dam in southern Ukraine has gradually been brought to light.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, or OCHA, cited Ukrainian government sources as saying about 80 towns and villages have been flooded, and nearly 40,000 residents could be impacted.

Regional governor of Kherson Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on social media on Thursday that roughly 600 square kilometers of the region were submerged.

Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets criticized Russia on social media on Wednesday, saying at least 150 tons of oil from the dam had leaked into the Dnipro river.

OCHA also raises concerns over the safety of drinking water in the area, as levels of Kakhovka Reservoir, which provides water to over 700,000 people, continue to drop rapidly.

Authorities in the Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region told Russia's state-run TASS news agency that more than 14,000 houses have been flooded.

They said five cemeteries, a hospital and a kindergarten are also under water. The flooding has forced 4,280 people including over 170 children to evacuate.