Russia claims Ukrainian drone strike kills 24 in occupied Kherson region
Moscow accuses Kyiv of New Year’s Eve attack on civilians as diplomats scramble to save fragile peace talks
Russian officials on Thursday said a Ukrainian drone strike killed 24 people and wounded at least 50 more as they celebrated the New Year in a Russian-occupied village in Ukraine’s Kherson region, as tensions between the two nations continue to spike despite diplomats hailing productive peace talks.
Three drones struck a cafe and hotel in the resort town of Khorly on the Black Sea coast, the region’s Moscow-installed leader, Vladimir Saldo, said in a statement on Telegram. He said that one of the drones carried an incendiary mixture, sparking a blaze.
The attack could not be independently verified. Ukraine’s military, which has accused Russia of killing many civilians in its own attacks on Ukrainian cities, said it targeted strictly military and energy targets, but made no specific reference to accounts of the strike on the hotel.
The attack was condemned by a number of Russian officials. Valentina Matviyenko, the chair of Russia’s upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, said that the strike “strengthened” Russia’s resolve to quickly achieve its goals in its almost four-year invasion of Ukraine.
The strike “once again demonstrates the validity of our initial demands,” Matviyenko said.