Ukraine war: Twelve injured, including baby, in Russian attack on Kherson, says governor

Russian forces carried out 59 attacks on Kherson over past 24 hours, Ukraine says

A dozen people were wounded, including a woman (27) and her nine-month-old baby, in a Russian attack on the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, its governor said on Sunday.

“The Kherson region experienced another terrible night,” governor Oleksandr Prokudin wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The woman and the infant were hospitalised with moderate wounds, he said, adding that a Red Cross medic (33) was also wounded.

Several houses and gas pipelines were damaged in the attack.

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Within 24 hours, Russian forces carried out 59 attacks on Kherson, the region’s administration said on Telegram, including 19 instances of shelling of Kherson city, the region’s administrative centre.

Reuters could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate comment from Russia.

Russia has frequently carried out air strikes and shelling on Ukraine since the start of its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukraine says its counteroffensive in the south and east is gradually making progress.

Both sides deny targeting civilians, but thousands of civilians in Ukraine have been killed in attacks that have hit residential areas as well as energy, defence, port, grain and other facilities.

Ukraine’s air force expects a record number of Russian drone attacks on its soil this winter, its spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on Sunday, as Kyiv girds for a second winter of mass bombardment of its energy facilities.

Mr Ihnat said that data for September showed the use by Russia of Iranian-designed Shahed kamikaze drones would smash last year’s figure.

“This autumn and winter ... is already a record in terms of the number of Shahed drones. Over 500 [were used] in September,” Mr Ihnat said in an interview on national television.

He contrasted this number with Russia’s air strike campaign on Ukraine last winter, when he said about 1,000 Shahed drones were used in six months.

Attacks on energy facilities last winter damaged a significant chunk of Ukraine’s power system and forced most cities to ration electricity and hot water.

Despite Ukraine bolstering its air defences, officials have warned of the risk of a repeat this winter, with the power grid still far from rebuilt after the last campaign of bombardment.