Kiev: Russians fire on lifeboat carrying flood victims, killing three

Russian troops fired on a lifeboat evacuating civilians in the flood-hit Kherson region of Ukraine, killing three people and injuring 10, authorities in Kiev charged on Sunday.

"Russians are cowardly terrorists," said Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, on Telegram. "They shot civilians in the back."

Yermak said the wounded had made it across the Dnipro river to the city of Kherson, which is held by Ukrainian forces.

The Dnipro separates Ukrainian-controlled parts of the region from southern areas under Russian occupation.

In the early hours of Tuesday, the dam on the river in the Russian-occupied town of Nova Kakhovka was destroyed. Huge amounts of water rushed out of the reservoir, totally flooding dozens of villages.

The warring sides have been accusing each other of shelling the flood zone for days, even as aid workers try to bring residents to safety.

The Ukrainian military governor of the area, Oleksandr Prokudin, said a 74-year-old man had suffered fatal gunshot wounds while trying to protect a woman with his body.

The Interior Ministry in Kiev said that there were 21 people on the boat who were trying to get to safety and published photos of those rescued.

Thousands of people have been brought to safety on both sides of the river. Thirty-five people are still considered missing in the Kherson region, including seven children, while dozens of people are being treated in hospital. The death toll stands at 14.

After dozens of villages were flooded, the waters are now receding. According to Prokudin, the flooded area has decreased from 139 to 77.8 square kilometres.

Ukraine accuses Russian troops of having mined and blown up the dam and the power station. Russia, on the other hand, claims that Ukrainian troops fired rocket launchers at the site.