Ukraine and Russia accused each other of shelling in the flood-hit Kherson region on Thursday even as rescuers raced to save people stranded after the destruction of a Russian-held dam unleashed a torrent of water.
Shortly after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the southern city of Kherson, Kyiv said a Russian strike there injured eight people.
Moscow-installed authorities, who the other bank of the now flood-swollen Dnipro River, said two evacuees were killed by Ukrainian shelling.
The Dnipro has steadily risen downstream from the breached Kakhovka dam, forcing thousands to flee their homes, flooding dozens of villages and parts of the regional capital Kherson and sparking fears of a humanitarian disaster.
The death toll from flooding reached six as Moscow-backed administration of Nova Kakhovka, where the dam is located, said five people had died and 41 were hospitalised.
Ukrainian police said one man had died in a riverside village in neighbouring Mykolaiv region, also affected by rising water levels.
Mr. Zelensky posted videos showing him meeting officials in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, as well as viewing evacuation efforts from beside the floodwater in Kherson and visiting survivors in a hospital.
"I thank the rescuers and volunteers! I thank everyone involved in this work!" he wrote.
AFP journalists heard artillery firing in Kherson on Thursday, striking the area used for rescue boats bringing in people from flooded areas.
"Due to targeted strikes by the occupiers during evacuations in the city, a civilian died. Two more people were wounded," Kherson's prosecutor's office said.
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