Rescuers are braving snipers and racing time to ferry Ukrainians out of Russian-occupied flood zones
Massive flooding from the destruction of a huge dam has devastated towns along the lower Dnieper River in Ukraine and forced many civilians to flee to rooftops, attics and higher ground KHERSON, Ukraine -- At last, help came for Vitalii Shpalin. From a distance, he spotted the small Ukrainian rescue boat traversing floodwaters that had submerged the 60-year-old’s entire neighborhood after a catastrophic dam collapse in the country’s embattled south. He and others boarded with sighs of relief — interrupted suddenly by the crackle of bullets. Shpalin ducked, and a bullet scraped his back. He felt one pierce his arm, then his leg. The boat's rescue worker cried into the radio for reinforcements. “Our boat is leaking,” Shpalin heard him say. An elderly man died before his eyes, his lips turning blue. Their vessel, taking civilians to safety in Kherson city across the river, had been shot by Russian soldiers positioned in a nearby house, according to Ukrianian officials and witnesses on...