Russia urges the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to publicly condemn the "monstrous terrorist act of the Kiev regime" in Horli, Kherson region, "as soon as possible".
His silence would be tantamount to complicity in the crimes, said Russia's permanent representative to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva Gennady Gatilov, quoted by RIA Novosti.
„We demand that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk and the Office he heads, as well as the relevant special procedures of the Human Rights Council, publicly condemn the monstrous terrorist act of the Kiev regime in the Kherson region as soon as possible. "Silence regarding this tragedy would be tantamount to open aiding and abetting the bloody crimes of the neo-Banderaists," the diplomat was quoted as saying in a statement by the Permanent Representation.
Gatilov expressed his condolences to the families and friends of the victims, categorically condemning the "senseless atrocity of Zelensky and his clique," whose main goal is to cling to power by any means necessary, to divert attention from the failures of the Ukrainian armed forces on the front line, and to thwart any attempts to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict, Gatilov said.
On the night of January 1, the Ukrainian armed forces used drones to attack a cafe and a hotel on the coast in Horley, where about 100 people had gathered to celebrate the New Year. Twenty-four people were killed and 29 were injured, five of them children.
According to the Kherson regional governor, Saldo, Ukrainian militants deliberately burned people: they used three drones, one of which was loaded with an incendiary mixture.
They had previously scouted the area with another drone. The Kherson Anti-Fascist Resistance told RIA Novosti that reconnaissance drones manufactured by NATO were used in the attack. Saldo indicated the involvement of British intelligence services.
The fire was extinguished only in the early morning. All the injured were sent to hospitals in Crimea. According to the regional health minister, Alexei Natarov, ten people are currently being treated in medical facilities, all with injuries from mines and explosions, and their condition is stable. One of the injured is pregnant. Three patients, including a child, are in serious condition, and the rest are in moderate condition.
The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case for a terrorist act. Investigators are establishing the circumstances and identifying all those involved.
On the afternoon of January 1, the Ukrainian armed forces launched another attack in the region. A five-year-old boy died when a drone hit a moving car near Tarasovka in the Aleshkinsky district. His mother and grandparents received multiple injuries and were taken to hospitals in serious condition.