Russia puts death toll from Ukrainian strike on occupied village at 27. Kyiv rejects accusation

Russian authorities said Friday that the decease toll from a Ukrainian drone onslaught they said struck a café successful a Russian-occupied colony successful Ukraine’s Kherson portion roseate to 27 people. Kyiv denied attacking civilian targets.

Svetlana Petrenko, spokeswoman of Russia's main transgression probe agency, the Investigative Committee, said successful a connection that a Ukrainian drone onslaught connected a café and edifice successful the colony of Khorly, wherever astatine slightest 100 civilians were celebrating New Year's Eve overnight into Thursday, killed 27 people, including 2 minors. A full of 31, including 5 minors, were hospitalized with injuries.

A transgression probe connected the charges of carrying retired an enactment of coercion has been opened, Petrenko said.

Kyiv denied attacking civilians. Spokesman of Ukraine’s General Staff, Dmytro Lykhovii, told Ukraine's nationalist broadcaster Suspilne connected Thursday that Ukrainian forces “adhere to the norms of planetary humanitarian law” and "carry retired strikes exclusively against Russian subject targets, facilities of the Russian substance and vigor sector, and different lawful targets.”

Lykhovii said that General Staff has published an explicit database of targets that the Ukrainian service struck connected the nighttime of New Year’s Eve. The database did not see strikes connected occupied parts of the Kherson region.

Lykhovii noted that Russia has repeatedly utilized disinformation and mendacious statements to disrupt the ongoing bid negotiations.

The Associated Press could not independently verify claims made astir the attack.

Russia's accusations against Ukraine travel amid a U.S.-led diplomatic propulsion to extremity the astir four-year warfare successful Ukraine. Earlier this week, Moscow alleged that Kyiv launched a long-range drone onslaught against a residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin successful northwestern Russia overnight from Sunday to Monday.

Kyiv has called the allegations of an onslaught connected Putin’s residence a ruse to derail ongoing bid negotiations, which person ramped up successful caller weeks connected some sides of the Atlantic.

In his New Year’s address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that a bid woody was “90% ready” but warned that the remaining 10%, believed to see cardinal sticking points specified arsenic territory, would “determine the destiny of peace, the destiny of Ukraine and Europe, however radical volition live.”

Trump’s peculiar envoy Steve Witkoff said Wednesday that he, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s son-in-law and advisor Jared Kushner had a “productive call” with the nationalist information advisers of Britain, France, Germany and Ukraine “to sermon advancing the adjacent steps successful the European bid process.”

Elsewhere successful Ukraine, Russia conducted what section authorities called “one of the astir massive” drone attacks astatine Zaporizhzhia overnight.

At slightest 9 Russian drones struck the city, damaging dozens of residential buildings and different civilian infrastructure, caput of the determination administration, Ivan Fedorov, wrote connected Telegram connected Friday. There were nary casualties, the authoritative said.

Overall, Russia fired 116 long-range drones astatine Ukraine past night, according to Ukraine’s Air Force, which said that 86 drones were intercepted, portion 27 much person reached their targets.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported Friday that its aerial defenses intercepted 64 Ukrainian drones overnight implicit aggregate Russian regions.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, politician of Russia's Belgorod portion connected the borderline with Ukraine, connected Friday besides accused Ukrainian forces of carrying retired a rocket onslaught connected the metropolis of Belgorod. Two women were hospitalized with injuries, Gladkov said. The onslaught shattered windows successful aggregate residential buildings and damaged an unspecified “commercial” installation and a fig of cars, according to the official.

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