The breach of a large dam in southern Ukraine will have a catastrophic effect on the location of landmines, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned.

As the BBC reported, Eric Tollefsen, head of the ICRC's Weapons Contamination Unit, warned that the mines thrown in the flood caused great concern not only for the residents of Kherson, but also for those coming to help.

– We knew where the dangers were. We don't know now, he said.

- All we know is that they are somewhere downstream, added Tollefsen.

Natalya Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern military command, said that "many anti-personnel mines (in Russian-held areas) have now become floating mines."

- They are very dangerous, she said, explaining that they will probably explode if they collide or hit something.

- The parties to the conflict have not announced the number of mines they have laid. We just know the number is huge, Tollefsen warned.

Thousands of people have already been evacuated from parts of the Kherson region as water continues to seep through the Dnieper River, which divides the territories controlled by Russia and Ukraine.

Moscow and Kiev accuse each other of collapsing the Kakhovka dam that supplied water to Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 and is in an area Ukrainian forces want to liberate.