Photos on the president’s Telegram account showed a built-up city centre strewn with burning cars, smashed windows and what appeared to be corpses on pavements.

“Social networks will most likely mark these photos as ‘sensitive content’. But this is not sensitive content – it is the real life of Ukraine and Ukrainians,” Zelensky wrote.

“These are not military facilities … it is terror, it is killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure.”

Ukraine retook Kherson, the only regional capital to be captured by Russia since its Feb 24 invasion, in November.

Since then, Kyiv says Russian forces have heavily shelled the city from across the vast Dnipro River.

Presidential aide Kyrylo Tymoshenko gave today’s casualty figures, saying 16 of the 35 people hurt were heavily wounded.

There was no word on the incident from Moscow and Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports.