WASHINGTON The World Bank will support Ukraine by conducting a rapid assessment of damages and needs after the destruction of a huge hydroelectric dam on front lines between Russian and Ukrainian forces, a top bank official said on Wednesday,

Anna Bjerde, the World Bank's managing director for operations, in a tweet said the destruction of the Novo Kakhovka dam had "many very serious consequences for essential service delivery and the broader environment."

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, also writing on Twitter, said he spoke with Bjerde about the impact of the dam's collapse, and she assured him the World Bank would carry out a rapid assessment of the damages and needs.

(Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Leslie Adler)