GENICHESK, April 19. /TASS/. The shelling that occurred on April 18-19 in Novaya Kakhovka was the strongest in the last few months, with reports saying dozens of civilian buildings were damaged, city head Vladimir Leontyev told reporters Wednesday.

"The situation is such that the last couple of months there has not been such serious shelling at all, and the old town, where we are now, has never suffered so much damage. There was no military here, only civilians. To our great regret, yesterday night and this morning were essentially catastrophic for the city," he noted.

On Wednesday morning, Ukrainian forces carried out a massive mortar, and later artillery, shelling. One woman, 69, was killed, and two more women were injured. According to Leontyev, they are in serious medical condition.

"[The number] of damaged buildings - it is difficult to count right now even for me. We will carry out a review during rebuilding, and count how many objects were damaged, but, overall, we are talking several dozen," the city head said, adding that the damaged buildings are private single-story and multi-apartment houses.

In addition, the shelling damaged the city’s waterworks; another shell detonated near the city administration’s public reception office.

"One more hour - and dozens of people would have gathered there to receive documents, pensions, and benefits. It is possible that this public office was the target, because the adjacent building was destroyed, and a woman died there," Leontyev noted.

According to the city head, the shelling lasted for an hour and a half, with explosions occurring every two to three minutes.

"It was mortar shelling at first, followed by 155-mm NATO shells. […] This was an act of terror against the civilian population," he concluded.