Russian authorities installed in the southern Kherson region accused Ukraine of attacking a hotel and a cafe on New Year's Eve, killing more than 20 people, and leaving nearly 30 people injured.
According to Volodymyr Saldo, the governor of the region, three Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) struck a cafe and a hotel at Khorly, beside the Black Sea coast.
"Many were burned alive. A child was killed," he claimed in a Telegram post, alleging that the attack took place just before midnight.
Pro-Russian outlets say 24 people died, while 29 were left injured, offering photos of the wreckage allegedly caused by Kyiv's drones.
He also alleged that one of the drones carried an "incendiary mixture", that he claimed had been used by Ukraine to "burn our fields in the summer".
However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces has not yet responded to these claims.
Kyiv, on the other hand, has also accused Russia of overnight drone strikes into January 1, 2026—including strikes on critical energy infrastructure in the Odesa Oblast, as well as a major fire and several explosions in Lutsk, located about 420km west from Kyiv.
"This is the kind of fire we have in our Lutsk this New Year instead of festive lights," said Lutsk Mayor Ihor Polishchuk.
Kherson is one of four regions—in addition to Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia—claimed by Moscow as its own in 2022.
Though Russia was pushed out of most of Kherson, especially the city, it continues to occupy the southern region, where it installed Saldo as governor. The parts of Kherson inhabited by Ukraine also face regular drone attacks from Russian forces on the other side of the Dnipro River.
