The Nikolaevsky reservoir dam in the city of Marganets, Dnepropetrovsk region, was mined by the Ukrainian militants, the Russian Defence Ministry said.
The militants plan to blow it up and blame Russian troops for the disaster, according to Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation.
Mizintsev warned that the explosion on the dam might trigger massive flooding that could potentially affect more than 45,000 people. He said the ensuing water shortage would deal a blow to vital supplies, leading to a sharp deterioration in health and the spread of infectious diseases in the Nikopol region.
The general noted that the situation was aggravated by the lack of access to medical care and the shortage of medicines, including life-saving ones.
According to Mizintsev, this was evidence of Ukraine's inhumane treatment of its own people.