The Russian-installed governor of part of Ukraine's Kherson region controlled by Moscow said on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces were still shelling it despite widespread flooding caused by the destruction of the area's huge Nova Kakhovka dam.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the claim by Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor. There was no immediate response to the allegation from Ukraine.
"Ukrainian armed forces continue shelling. The shelling is more chaotic than targeted. Sometimes infrastructure is damaged," Saldo told Russia's Rossiya 24 state TV channel.
He said Russia should respond by "maximizing the destruction" of Ukrainian military hardware deployed on the right (west) bank of the Dnipro river, which Ukraine controls.
Moscow controls the left (east) bank.
Kherson is one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia claimed to have unilaterally annexed last year, a move rejected as illegal by Kyiv and the West. Russia does not fully control any of the four regions and was forced to retreat from the west bank of the Dnipro last November.
About 42,000 people are at risk from flooding in Russian- and Ukrainian-controlled areas along the Dnipro after the Nova Kakhovka dam collapsed.
Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the destruction of the dam, which has sent floodwaters across a war zone and forced thousands to flee. Some independent experts say the dam may have collapsed due to earlier damage and intense pressure on it.
