KHERSON, Ukraine: Russian forces killed eight civilians in attacks on the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson on Wednesday, striking a hypermarket and railway station in the regional capital and hitting villages nearby, officials said.
Three were killed in an apparent artillery strike as people did their morning shopping in the hypermarket in the city of Kherson, the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said.
Local officials said one person was also killed when the city railway station was bombarded, three energy workers were killed while carrying out repairs in a nearby village and a man was killed in a residential building in another settlement.
Pools of blood and debris lay on the ground outside the hypermarket, whose entrance had been heavily damaged and cordoned off, Reuters reporters on the scene said.
The interior ministry said the victims were all either customers or workers at the hypermarket.
“When the enemy can achieve nothing on the battlefield, its strikes at peaceful cities,” Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhii Cherevatyi said.
Windows were smashed at the railway station, where there appeared to have been three explosions. Two people could be seen being carried out alive on stretchers. Three women at the station said they had been eating and took cover under a table.
“We cannot negotiate with Russian murderers. They must be brought to justice. Or destroyed,” Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a statement.
Russia did not immediately comment on the incident. It has stepped up air strikes in the past few days as Ukraine prepares for a counteroffensive which Kyiv hopes will change the dynamic of Russia’s more than 14-month-old war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops recaptured Kherson last November after nearly eight months of occupation by Russian. The area is now under almost constant bombardment from Russian forces entrenched on the opposite side of the Dnipro River.
Russia has denied deliberately targeting civilians but many people have been killed in attacks on residential areas across Ukraine since the invasion in February last year.
The regional governor had earlier announced a curfew on Kherson city to last from Friday evening until Monday morning for “law enforcement” reasons. He gave no other explanation.
Russian attacks kill eight in Ukraine’s Kherson region — officials
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Russian attacks kill eight in Ukraine’s Kherson region — officials
- Three were killed in an apparent artillery strike as people did their morning shopping in the hypermarket in the city of Kherson
- Local officials said one person was also killed when the city railway station was bombarded
France, Algeria to resume security cooperation: minister
- Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with junta-led Niger and Mali, both gripped by terrorist violence
ALGIERS: France and Algeria agreed on Tuesday to restart security cooperation during a visit to Algiers by French Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, marking the first sign of a thaw in diplomatic ties.
After meeting with President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, Nunez said both sides had agreed to “reactivate a high-level security cooperation mechanism.”
The visit took place against a backdrop of thorny relations between France and its former colony, frayed since Paris in 2024 officially backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara region, where Algeria supports the pro-independence Polisario Front.
Nunez said Monday had been devoted to working sessions aimed at “restoring normal security relations,” including cooperation in judicial matters, policing and intelligence.
He thanked the Algerian president for instructing his services to work with French authorities to “improve cooperation on readmissions.” Algeria has for months refused to take back its nationals living irregularly in France.
The renewed cooperation is expected to take effect “as quickly as possible” and continue “at a very high level,” Nunez confirmed.
According to images released by Algerian authorities, the talks brought together senior security officials from both countries, including France’s domestic intelligence chief and Algeria’s head of internal security.
Invited by his counterpart Said Sayoud, Nunez’s trip had been planned for months but repeatedly delayed.
Both sides have a backlog of issues to tackle. Before traveling, Nunez said he intended to raise “all security issues,” including drug trafficking and counterterrorism.
Algeria plays a key role in the latter, sharing borders with junta-led Niger and Mali, both gripped by terrorist violence.
Ahead of the trip, Nunez had also mentioned the case of Christophe Gleizes, a French sports journalist serving a seven-year sentence for “glorifying terrorism.”
It is unclear whether the matter was discussed with Tebboune, from whom the journalist’s family has requested a pardon.
