Moscow [Russia], January 1 : At least 24 people were killed, including a child and more than 50 were injured after Ukrainian drones struck a cafe and a hotel during New Year celebrations in the Kherson region, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Thursday.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the attack took place in the early hours of 2026 and targeted a location where civilians had gathered to celebrate the New Year.
The ministry alleged that the strike was carried out using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), calling it "another terrorist act against civilians" by the Kyiv regime.
"For more than 70 residents the New Year became a tragedy: the Neo-Nazis attacked a cafe and a hotel in the Kherson region of Russia using UAVs. 24 people were killed, over 50 were wounded and have been hospitalized. Among those affected -- six kids from the age of 6 to 17, one child was killed," the statement read.
The MFA further accused that the attack was "preplanned", noting that the drones were directed to a place where civilians celebrated the New Year.
Following the strike, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukrainian forces of carrying out what she described as an act carried out by "terrorist bastards in Ukraine".
She also alleged that the attack deliberately targeted a civilian gathering and blamed Western countries for supporting Ukraine.
"Today we see this beastly pattern copycatted by the Kiev regime: the same neo-Nazi hatred, the same dehumanisation at an exponential rate, the same desecration of the sacrosanct," the spokesperson said.
"We blame this on everyone who sponsors terrorist bastards in Ukraine! We blame them for killing children and destroying civilians! We blame them for corrupting the Ukrainian statehood, which turned into a killing machine," she added.
Kherson region Governor Vladimir Saldo said three drones struck a cafe and a hotel in the coastal village of Khorly, stating that one of the drones reportedly carried an incendiary payload, leading to a major fire at the site.
According to Al Jazeera, Kherson is among the four Ukrainian regions that Russia claimed to have annexed in 2022.
Ukraine's military has not commented on Russia's allegations regarding the incident in Kherson. However, in a separate statement, the Ukrainian armed forces said they carried out overnight strikes on Russia's Ilsky oil refinery in the Krasnodar region, noting that the attack's impact was still being assessed, Al Jazeera reported.