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“There were civilians there, each of whom lived their own life, went about their own business,” he said, noting a girl selling phone SIM cards, others unloading items from a truck and passersby.
There was no word from Moscow, where President Vladimir Putin’s government denies targeting civilians.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports from Kherson.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the war would end at the negotiating table once the “special military operation” achieves Russia’s goals. He said no reported Ukrainian peace plan could succeed without considering “the realities of today that can’t be ignored” – a reference to Moscow’s demand that Ukraine recognise Russia’s sovereignty over the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014, as well as other territorial gains.
Municipal workers clear rubble and disassemble destroyed buildings after heavy fighting at Mariupol theater in Mariupol on Saturday.Credit:AP
Ukraine retook Kherson, the only regional capital Russia had since its February 24 invasion, in November. Since then, Kyiv said Russian forces have heavily shelled the city from across the vast Dnipro river.
Since February, Ukraine has driven Russian forces from the areas around Kyiv and second-biggest city Kharkiv. Moscow is now focused on holding its occupied areas in the south and east - around a fifth of Ukraine.
Presidential aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko said the attack came from a Grad multiple rocket launcher.
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Another aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, criticized those calling for Kyiv to seek peace talks with Russia, referencing Moscow’s relentless pounding of Ukraine’s power grid since October.
Ukrainian officials say Moscow has already fired more than 1000 rockets at the power grid, and have warned of a bitter winter with huge deficits of power and water pumping capacity, undermining central heating in most Ukrainian homes.
“I’ll remind those who propose to take into account [Russian] ‘peace’ initiatives: right now Russia is ‘negotiating’, killing Kherson residents, wiping out Bakhmut, destroying Kyiv/Odesa grids, torturing civilians in Melitopol,” Podolyak wrote.
“Russia wants to kill with impunity. Shall we allow it?”
Yanushevych had earlier shared a message from the city’s blood bank calling for urgent donations.
Kyiv was still recovering from Monday’s wave of missile strikes, which knocked out half the city’s power supply into the next day, according to Ukraine’s prime minister.