New Delhi, March 21 -- Tens of thousands of Moldovans have been left without water after a Russian strike on a hydroelectric plant in neighboring Ukraine resulted in oil polluting a major river that flows through both countries.

Moldovan President Maia Sandu has blamed Russia for the pollution on the Dniester River following an attack on Ukraine's Novodnistrovsk hydropower plant on March 7, saying it's "threatening Moldova's water supply" in the European Union candidate country.

The Ukrainian plant is situated about 15 kilometers (9 miles) upstream from Moldova's northern border with Ukraine and supplies water to about 80% of Moldova's population of about 2.5 million. Moscow has repeatedly targeted Ukraine's civilian infrastructure, suc...