Russia fired almost 50 Shahed drones at targets in Ukraine and shelled a train station where more than 100 civilians were gathered to catch a train to Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday. The barrages killed at least five people and knocked out power in most of the southern city of Kherson.
Quick Read
- Russian Drone Attacks in Ukraine: Russia launched a significant drone attack against Ukraine, firing almost 50 Shahed drones at various targets. This included shelling a train station in the Kherson region, where over 100 civilians were gathered, causing at least five deaths and widespread power outages in Kherson city.
- Damage to Infrastructure and Casualties: The attack in Kherson resulted in extensive damage to residential areas, a mall, and the power grid, leaving around 70% of households without electricity. In Odesa, another southern Ukrainian city, the drone assault killed two people and wounded three, including a teenager.
- Response to the Attack: Over 100 people who were at the Kherson train station during the attack arrived in Kyiv the following morning. Ukrainian forces intercepted 32 out of the 46 drones launched by Russia.
- Recent Military Developments: The aerial barrage occurred after Ukrainian warplanes damaged a Russian ship in the Black Sea. Despite these incidents, both sides are struggling to make significant progress in the 22-month-long war.
- Casualties in Kherson: In Kherson, the shelling killed one policeman and injured two others, along with two civilians. Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported these details.
- Russian Tactics: Russia’s targeting of energy infrastructure echoes its tactics from last winter, aimed at breaking the spirit of the Ukrainian people by depriving them of heating and running water during the cold season.
- Situation in Eastern Ukraine: In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces captured the city of Marinka, but Western military assessments and the Institute for the Study of War suggest that this is unlikely to lead to major battlefield gains for Russia. Ukrainian commander-in-chief Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi noted that his troops had retreated from Marinka, which had been under siege for almost two years.
The Associated Press has the story:
A Russian drone & artillery attack kills 6 in Ukraine, knocks out power in a major city
Newsslooks- KYIV, Ukraine (AP)
Russia fired almost 50 Shahed drones at targets in Ukraine and shelled a train station where more than 100 civilians were gathered to catch a train to Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said Wednesday. The barrages killed at least five people and knocked out power in most of the southern city of Kherson.
The aerial barrage came a day after Ukrainian warplanes damaged a Russian ship moored in the Black Sea off Crimea as both sides’ soldiers struggle to make much progress along the front line of the 22-month war.
Overnight, the Kremlin’s forces launched an artillery and drone bombardment of the Kherson region just as some 140 civilians were waiting for a train at the region’s capital city of the same name, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. The shelling killed one policeman and injured two other police officers, as well as two civilians.
More than 100 people who were waiting for the train at the time of the attack arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday morning, national rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia said.
The attack on the Kherson region and its capital hit residential areas and a mall as well as striking the power grid, leaving around 70% of households in Kherson city without electricity during the winter cold, regional Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.
It was not immediately possible to estimate when power might be restored, he said.
Targeting energy infrastructure was also a Russian tactic last winter, when it tried to break Ukrainians’ spirit by denying them heating and running water.
In Odesa, another major city in southern Ukraine, the drone assault killed two people and wounded three, including a 17-year-old man, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said.
Ukraine’s air force said it intercepted 32 out of the 46 drones that Russia fired overnight.
A Western military assessment, meanwhile, reckoned that Russia’s capture this week of a city in eastern Ukraine would not provide it with a springboard for major battlefield gains.
Ukrainian commander-in-chief Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Tuesday that his troops had retreated to the northern outskirts of the city of Marinka, which sits about 20 kilometers (12 miles) west of Donetsk, the largest city in Russian-held territory.
Zaluzhnyi said his troops had held Marinka for almost two years but Russians “were destroying it street by street, house by house.”
The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank, said “Russian forces are highly unlikely to make rapid operational advances from Marinka.”
But it noted that “localized Russian offensive operations are still placing pressure on Ukrainian forces in many places along the front in eastern Ukraine.”
