Russia on Thursday said at least 24 people were killed and more than 50 injured in a Ukrainian drone strike on a hotel and café where New Year celebrations were underway in the occupied Kherson region. Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, said the strike took place in Khorly, a coastal village near the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula.In a post on Telegram, Saldo said the drone attack hit a hotel and café crowded with people celebrating the New Year, Reuters reported.The claim comes amid heightened tensions after Russia’s defense ministry released night-time footage that it said showed the wreckage of a Ukrainian drone shot down near one of President Vladimir Putin’s residences in north-west Russia.
Moscow described the alleged incident as a “terrorist act” and a “personal attack” on Putin, allegations that Kyiv has firmly denied, calling them fabricated.The video, published on Wednesday, shows a damaged unmanned aerial vehicle lying in snow in a wooded area. According to the defense ministry, the drone was intercepted during what it described as a “mass launch” targeting Putin’s residence in the Novgorod region on the night of December 28–29.Russian officials claimed that 91 drones were launched during the incident and said all were intercepted by air defenses. The ministry said the drone carried a six-kilogram explosive charge, but added that the residence was not damaged.The defense ministry said the alleged attack was “targeted, carefully planned and carried out in stages.”Reuters could not verify the attack.
