KYIV: At least seven civilians, including an innocent infant, were killed in a barrage of Russian shelling targeting the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson on Sunday, Ukrainian authorities reported. The violence continues to escalate, further highlighting the dire humanitarian consequences of the ongoing conflict.
Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko disclosed that the shelling took a particularly devastating toll in the village of Shyroka Balka, where a couple and their 23-day-old baby lost their lives. Tragically, another man was also killed, and the couple’s 12-year-old son, critically wounded, eventually succumbed to his injuries in a hospital.
In the neighboring village of Stanislav, two individuals were killed and one wounded in the midst of the relentless artillery fire, according to Klymenko. He starkly emphasized the urgency of the situation, declaring in a Telegram post accompanied by images of damaged homes: “The terrorists will never willingly stop killing civilians. The terrorists must be stopped. With force. They don’t understand anything else.”
Amidst the chaos, Russian forces carried out a separate attack on Kherson city, leaving three more people wounded, as confirmed by Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s presidential administration.
Although Ukrainian military forces successfully reclaimed the western part of the Kherson region from Russian occupation last November, Russian troops have continued to subject the area to relentless shelling from across the Dnipro River.
Russian Forces Fire Warning Shots at Cargo Ship in Black Sea
In a disturbing escalation, a Russian warship reportedly fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea. This incident marks the first time that Russia has directed fire at merchant shipping beyond Ukrainian waters since withdrawing from a crucial UN-brokered grain deal last month. Russia’s decision to halt its participation in the Black Sea grain deal severed a vital channel for Ukraine’s agricultural exports via the Black Sea.
Russia’s Vasily Bykov patrol ship reportedly fired automatic weapons at the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel, alleging that the ship’s captain ignored requests to halt for an inspection. The Russian defence ministry revealed that the vessel was headed towards the Ukrainian port of Izmail, while tracking data showed it was approaching the Romanian port of Sulina, off the coast of Bulgaria.
In addition to the shelling and maritime tensions, Russian air defenses reportedly brought down at least four Ukrainian drones over western regions of Russia on the same day. While no casualties or significant damage were reported, the incidents underscore the increasingly volatile nature of the conflict.
