KYIV (Reuters) -A Russian strike on Ukraine\u2019s recently recaptured city of Kherson killed at least 10 people, wounded 58 and left bloodied corpses on the road, authorities said, in what Kyiv condemned as wanton killing for pleasure.<\/p>\n
A pro-Moscow official responded by saying Ukrainian forces had launched the attack in a bid to blame the Russian military.<\/p>\n
Fresh from a trip to the United States seeking weapons to resist the 10-month-old Russian invasion, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy published photos showing streets strewn with burning cars, smashed windows and bodies.<\/p>\n
\u201cSocial networks will most likely mark these photos as \u2018sensitive content\u2019. But this is not sensitive content \u2013 it is the real life of Ukraine and Ukrainians,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are not military facilities. … It is terror, it is killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Russia controls most but not all of Kherson region. Local Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych, appointed by Kyiv, told national television the death toll had risen to 10, Interfax Ukraine news agency said.<\/p>\n
Vladimir Saldo, the region\u2019s Russian-installed governor, said Kyiv had ordered troops to shell the city.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a disgusting provocation with the obvious aim of blaming the Russian armed forces,\u201d he wrote on Telegram.<\/p>\n
Yuriy Sobolevskyi, deputy chair of the regional council, said a missile landed next to a supermarket by the city\u2019s Freedom Square.<\/p> \u201cThere were civilians there, each of whom lived their own life, went about their own business,\u201d he said, noting a girl selling phone Sim cards, others unloading items from a truck, and passersby.<\/p>\n Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports from Kherson.<\/p>\n Ukraine retook the city, the only regional capital Russia had since its Feb. 24 invasion, in November. Since then, Kyiv says Russian forces have heavily shelled the city from across the vast Dnipro river.<\/p>\n \u2018KILL WITH IMPUNITY\u2019<\/p>\n Ukrainian presidential aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko said the attack came from a Grad multiple rocket launcher.<\/p>\n Another aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, criticized those calling for Kyiv to seek peace talks with Russia, referencing Moscow\u2019s relentless pounding of Ukraine\u2019s power grid since October that has left millions without heat or water.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll remind those who propose to take into account (Russian) \u2018peace\u2019 initiatives: Right now Russia is \u2018negotiating,\u2019 killing Kherson residents, wiping out Bakhmut, destroying Kyiv\/Odesa grids, torturing civilians in Melitopol,\u201d Podolyak wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cRussia wants to kill with impunity. Shall we allow it?\u201d<\/p>\n Yanushevych had earlier shared a message from the city\u2019s blood bank calling for urgent donations.<\/p>\n Kyiv was still recovering from Monday\u2019s wave of missile strikes, which knocked out half the city\u2019s power supply into the next day, according to Ukraine\u2019s prime minister.<\/p>\n