Russian forces shelled a train station in Kherson as civilians were trying to flee the front line city in southern Ukraine, the leadership in Kiev said late Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said many people were awaiting the departure of an evacuation train, with the number of dead and injured still unknown.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram that one police officer was killed and two others injured.
More than 100 civilians are now to be bussed out of the city and taken to safety, Ukrainian authorities said.
Kherson is the capital of a southern Ukrainian region of the same name. The region is one of four that Moscow claimed last year to have annexed, despite not fully controlling it.
The city of Kherson fell to Russian troops shortly after the start of the war almost two years ago, but was liberated by the Ukrainians a few months later.
Residents of city are often subjected to heavy shelling by the Russian army, which continues to control areas on the opposite side of the Dnipro river that bisects the region.
The war continued to rage in other parts of Ukraine on Tuesday.
Earlier, the Russian Defence Ministry confirmed damage to one of its warships following a Ukrainian attack targeting a port on the Russian-occupied Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.
The large landing ship Novocherkassk, which is part of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet, was hit by Ukrainian airstrikes, the ministry was quoted as saying by Russian state news agency TASS.
The extent of the damage to the ship was unclear.
According to Crimea’s Russian-appointed governor, one person was killed and two others were injured in the attack.
Earlier the Ukrainian Air Force said that it had not just damaged but destroyed the warship using cruise missiles.
Moscow in turn said Russian air defences destroyed two Ukrainian fighter jets that had attacked the Novocherkassk.
The two Sukhoi Su-24 aircraft that were shot down belonged to the tactical squadrons of the Ukrainian Air Force and fired guided missiles, the ministry in Moscow said.
But the claim was contested by Kiev, with Ukraine’s air force spokesman Yuri Ihnat saying the jets were not shot down.
Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 in violation of international law, has been the target of repeated Ukrainian attacks since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of the neighbouring country on February 24, 2022.
The peninsula serves as an important focal point in Russia’s war against Ukraine – because Moscow’s troops in the south of Ukraine are supplied through it.
Abhinav Thawait is a globe-trotting correspondent with a passion for international affairs. With a background in international relations, he offers a global perspective on the most pressing issues around the world. Abhinav’s curiosity takes his to the far corners of the earth, where he seeks to share untold stories and diverse viewpoints.
