Overview
- Regional officials in Russian-held Kherson reported three drones hit a café and hotel in Khorly around New Year’s, saying one carried an incendiary payload, with 24 people killed and more than 50 injured.
- Crimean health authorities said 10 evacuees, including five children, were hospitalized with mine‑explosion injuries and that three patients, among them a child, were in serious condition.
- Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a terrorism case tied to the Khorly fatalities and said it will probe alleged Ukrainian offenses affecting civilians across multiple regions.
- Moscow asked the UN human rights office to publicly condemn the strike, local leaders declared mourning, and Kherson’s administration ordered assistance for victims’ families.
- In related theater updates, Russian forces claimed recent shootdowns of Ukrainian hexacopter drones in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine reported outages and injuries from a Dec. 30–31 drone attack on Odesa, and U.S. media reported intelligence assessments disputing a separate Russian claim that Ukraine targeted Putin’s Valdai residence.