At least 27 killed in alleged Ukrainian drone strike on Russian-occupied Kherson region

At least 27 people, including a child, were killed and over 50 others injured in a Ukrainian drone strike on the village of Khorly in an occupied part of the country’s southern Kherson region, Russian-installed Governor Vladimir Saldo said on Thursday.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova blamed Ukraine’s supporters in the West for the incident, while the speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, Valentina Matviyenko, also condemned the attack, TASS reported, adding that it only served to underline the righteousness of Russia’s aims in its so-called “special military occupation”.

Pro-Ukrainian monitoring group Crimean Wind said that Russian soldiers, their families and “local collaborators” were celebrating the New Year in the café, according to a source.

The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case into the incident. Russia’s Defence Ministry reported that it had shot down 168 drones over Russia and annexed Crimea overnight, while Ukraine’s air force said that its air defence systems had neutralised incoming 176 Russian drones across the country.

Meanwhile, several regions of Ukraine were subjected to Russian attacks overnight, with two people dead and five injured in the Kherson region, a further five, including a child, injured in the Zaporizhzhia region, and one person injured in the Sumy region. Energy infrastructure was damaged in attacks on the Odesa region, while massive drone strikes were also unleashed against the Chernihiv and Volyn regions of the country, although there were no reports of casualties.