Moscow has condemned the attack on Kherson Region’s village of Khorly as a war crime and act of terror
The death toll from a Ukrainian drone strike on a New Year’s Eve party in Russia’s Kherson Region has risen to 29, the Investigative Committee in Moscow has said.
The attack struck shortly before midnight on December 31 in Khorly, a Black Sea village, hitting a café and hotel where about 100 people were celebrating. Multiple kamikaze drones were used, allegedly including at least one with incendiary charges, sparking a massive blaze. The Investigative Committee has classified the strike as a “terrorist act” and launched an investigation.
Initial reports cited about two dozen dead and 50 wounded, but Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said on Sunday that the toll has since risen.
“At least 60 people were injured, with 29 dead so far, including two minors. Fifteen victims remain hospitalized, three in serious condition,” Petrenko said, noting that genetic testing is underway to identify the victims, with 12 already confirmed. “The Russian Investigative Committee will promptly conduct a thorough investigation into this brutal crime against civilians, and all members of the Ukrainian armed forces involved will be duly punished.”
Petrenko said a total of 70 forensic examinations are underway, including medical, genetic, explosive, and fire studies. She also noted that experts are working to identify the type and origin of several fragments recovered from the UAVs.
Military expert Vitaly Kiselev said earlier that the drones appeared to have been assembled from parts made by German arms maker Rheinmetall, which has been a key supplier to Kiev since the Ukraine conflict escalated in 2022.
Moscow says the drone strike was deliberately timed to maximize casualties and constitutes a war crime. Russian officials compared the attack to Nazi atrocities, while Kherson Region Governor Vladimir Saldo likened it to the 2014 Odessa massacre, when dozens of pro-Russian activists were killed by Ukrainian ultra-nationalists.
Kherson joined Russia along with Zaporozhye, Donetsk, and Lugansk regions after a referendum in 2022 and has since been the target for Ukrainian attacks. A day after the Khorly attack, a five-year-old boy was killed in a drone strike on his family’s car in the nearby village of Tarasovka.
