By Patrick Smith and Max Butterworth - NBC News
The extent of the destruction caused by the collapse of the Kakhovka dam was revealed Thursday in new satellite images.
Before and after images of the catastrophe, captured by Maxar Technologies, a U.S. defense contractor based in Colorado, show how the landscape of southern Ukraine has been reshaped.
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The images underscore the immediate challenge emergency services face in finding and rescuing stranded people, with entire communities underwater and thousands fleeing the rising Dnieper River.
They also illustrate the far-reaching effects of the dam rupture, which has flooded battlefields and emptied a reservoir critical for water supply and irrigation.
The Nova Kakhovka dam pictured on June 5, left, and on June 7, right. Maxar Technologies
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited affected areas under Ukrainian control on Thursday to assess the emergency response, as officials based in Russia reported the first deaths from the disaster.
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Ukraine blames Russia for the dam's destruction and several Kiev allies have called the incident a war crime, but the Kremlin has denied any involvement.
Zelenskyy has urged allies to offer aid and assistance to evacuate people and provide essential supplies. French President Emmanuel Macron said his country would "send aid to meet immediate needs" on Wednesday.
A granary close to the burst dam in Nova Kakhovka on June 5th, left, and June 7th. Maxar Technologies
Huge tracts of land have been left underwater in a largely rural area of Ukraine, with entire towns isolated and exposed to dangers such as landmines and waterborne diseases.
A complex array of irrigation systems used river water to irrigate crops across the region, reinforcing Ukraine's reputation as one of the world's largest food exporters, with some 33 million hectares of farmland. But authorities fear that much of the region's farmland is now ruined.
Close up detail from the small town of Oleshky, in the Kherson region on May 15, left, and on June 7, right. Maxar Technologies
"The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant will cause the fields of southern Ukraine to become deserts next year," the Ukrainian Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement on Tuesday.
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In the Maxar images you can clearly see how light and heavy industry has been submerged by floods.
Some 231 square miles (598 square kilometers) of the Kherson region are flooded, according to regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin. The river has risen an average of 18.3 feet (5.5 meters), he said, adding that nearly 2,000 people had been evacuated so far.
Fields and settlements in the town of Krinky on May 15, left, and on June 7, right. Maxar Technologies
More than two-thirds of the submerged area was on the Russian-controlled eastern bank of the river, where Ukrainian leaders said humanitarian and logistical problems were particularly acute.
The Ukrainian military said some Russian forces on the left bank, including soldiers in trenches and seized homes, had been inundated.