At Least 20 Killed in Drone Attack on Russian-Held Area of Ukraine’s Kherson Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — At least 20 people were killed in a drone attack targeting a Russian-held area of Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, according to Moscow-installed officials and Russian authorities on Thursday, as both sides accused each other of escalating aerial attacks.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed governor of the Kherson region, said three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) struck a café and hotel in the village of Khorly on the Black Sea coast. In a statement posted on Telegram, Saldo said preliminary information indicated that more than 50 people were injured and 24 killed.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had launched a criminal probe into the incident, reporting that more than 20 people were killed and many others wounded. Images shared by Saldo showed a building heavily damaged by fire, with smoldering debris and extensive destruction at the site.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of carrying out what she described as a “terrorist attack” targeting civilians. Ukrainian authorities had not commented on the incident as of Thursday.

Khorly is located on a peninsula along the Black Sea coast and came under Russian control during the early phase of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Later that year, Ukrainian forces recaptured large parts of the Kherson region, including the regional capital, during a counter-offensive.

Since then, the Dnieper River has formed the front line, with both sides frequently launching drone and artillery strikes across the divide.

The incident came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had intensified drone attacks against Ukraine, launching more than 200 drones overnight as the war nears its fourth year.

Writing on social media on Thursday, Zelensky said the strikes were primarily aimed at Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, accusing Moscow of deliberately extending the conflict into the New Year.

The latest exchange of accusations underscores the continued escalation of drone warfare in southern Ukraine, where civilian areas and critical infrastructure on both sides of the front line have increasingly been affected by long-range strikes.

Amid continued fighting on the ground, diplomatic efforts to bring the war to an end have also intensified. Senior U.S., European, and Ukrainian officials have intensified diplomatic coordination on ending the war in Ukraine.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s Special Envoy Steve Witkoff said on Wednesday that he, alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Jared Kushner, held a “productive call” with national security advisers from the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The talks focused on advancing what Witkoff described as the next practical steps in President Trump’s European peace process.

According to Witkoff’s statement on X, discussions centered on strengthening security guarantees for Ukraine and developing effective deconfliction mechanisms aimed at ending the war and preventing its resumption.

The call also addressed a proposed “prosperity package” for Ukraine, designed to support long-term recovery, resilience, and economic growth once the conflict ends. Witkoff said further coordination would continue into the New Year.