THIS is the unbelievable moment a Ukrainian dam is blown up and floods frontline villages while Putin’s troops advance in the region.

Dramatic footage shows the dam catastrophically explode in the Donetsk region by what’s believed to be Russian shelling.

The dam initially looks calm, with no movement around nor anything flying through the air.

But soon footage shows a massive flash of blinding red light before plumes of black smoke erupt from the site in the explosion.

Debris from the dam are captured flying everywhere as while smoke continues to cover the land and water around.

It is unclear in the footage where the explosion would have come from.

But one theory claims the Kurakhiv dam got detonated by explosives laid at the site, with Putin’s Russia blaming Ukraine.

Another version is that it was Russian shelling that caused the catastrophic scenes.

The explosion appeared to create two channels to release water downstream – flooding villages in areas still controlled by Ukraine but where Russia continues to press.

Water has since been released but there are so far no reports of a critical situation – despite there being a 4ft rise in river levels.

The Russians have previously tried and failed to destroy the dam with aerial bombing “for three months“ Roman Padun, the Ukrainian head of the Kurakhiv city military administration, said.

He stressed: “We know that waters are flowing through the villages near the dam.

“We cannot confirm the nature of the damage or its severity.

“Due to ongoing shelling, we cannot inspect the dam.“

The dam is on the Volchi River, which is a left-side tributary of the Samara River.

Russia has a track record of devastatingly blowing up dams.

Despite denials on in June last year, the Kakhovka dam was mined and detonated – the fifth largest in Ukraine and caused major flooding.

An overwhelming 33 people died during the explosion , with 28 injured.

Almost 160 people went missing with the location of 64 of them established.

Kremlin propagandist Sergei Markov accused the Ukrainians of an “environmental crime“.

The Putin puppet said: “It is clearly visible that this is not shelling but rather an explosion.

“There, two canals are clearly made by special means of an explosion.

“This clearly shows that the Armed Forces of Ukraine did the blowing up of the dam and the flooding of the villages on Zelensky’s orders.“