MOSCOW (Realist English). Vladimir Putin received a phone briefing from Vladimir Saldo on a drone attack that hit the village of Khorly on the Black Sea coast, Russian officials said.
According to Saldo, the president was informed about the progress of the investigation and the identification of victims. As investigative work continues, updated information — including the names of those killed — will be published on the official website of the Kherson Oblast administration, he said.
The strike occurred overnight on January 1, when drones targeted a café and a hotel in Khorly where local residents were celebrating the New Year. Preliminary figures cited by regional authorities put the death toll at 24, with 29 others injured, including children.
Saldo said Putin agreed with his assessment that the attack’s “cruelty, inhumanity and cynicism” were comparable to the May 2, 2014 tragedy in Odesa. The governor relayed the president’s reaction in a post on his Telegram channel following the call.
Russia’s lower house speaker Vyacheslav Volodin also issued a sharp condemnation, describing the strike as a deliberate terrorist attack on civilians. Writing on the MAX platform, Volodin said the drones hit a location where non-combatants had gathered to mark the holiday.
Volodin blamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and what he called his European backers for the attack, offered condolences to the families of those killed and wished a swift recovery to the injured. He said preventing such incidents would require achieving the objectives set by Russia for its ongoing military operation.