In a tragic incident, at least 22 civilians were killed in a Ukrainian shelling attack targeting the village of Sadovoe in Russia’s Kherson Region, according to Governor Vladimir Saldo on Friday. Among the victims was a nine-year-old child. The attack occurred in a small shop situated in a residential area. As locals rushed to aid those affected by the first strike, a second strike hit the same area, further escalating the tragedy.
As a result of these attacks, 17 civilians were killed within and near the shop, while four others residing in nearby houses lost their lives as well. At least 15 people were injured during this tragic event, with five of them being reported to be in critical condition. The shop was full of customers when it was targeted, leading Governor Saldo to refer to the attack as a “bloody crime” and a “heinous murder.
According to the governor’s statement, the Ukrainian forces initially used a guided bomb to strike the shop before employing a US-made M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) multiple rocket launcher in their assault on the same area. Western backers have supplied Ukraine with dozens of such systems, which have been extensively utilized by Ukrainian troops throughout their conflict with Russia.
Ukraine has claimed that HIMARS systems are precision weapons designed to target high-value assets. However, Russian officials have reported recovering debris from HIMARS munitions after strikes on purely civilian targets in multiple instances. Kiev’s forces have been actively targeting civilians living in Russian regions throughout the course of this conflict.
In May, one person was killed and “many” others were injured in another Ukrainian attack on a minibus carrying civilians in Kherson Region. Moreover, Belgorod, a city close to the Ukrainian border, has become one of the primary targets of Kiev’s attacks, with Ukrainian forces bombarding it during New Year’s Eve festivities and killing 25 civilians at a public event.
These continuous strikes targeting the civilian population in Russian border regions have prompted Moscow to launch an offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region to establish a buffer zone aimed at curbing cross-border attacks. In response, President Vladimir Putin has warned that if Ukraine continues to “shell residential areas in border territories,” Russia will be “forced to create a security zone” to prevent such strikes from occurring.