A curfew was declared in the Kherson region, starting Friday, May 5, following "massive" Russian strikes on Wednesday. According to the regional prosecutor's office, these attacks have killed at least 21 civilians, including 12 in the city of Kherson. The government also reports 48 people "injured to varying degrees".
Authorities said the strikes hit "a railway station, a tool shop, a supermarket and a gas station" in the city of Kherson, near the front line, leaving at least four people dead and several injured and one Another bombardment killed three people who were working to repair an energy site in the area. Details on all of the Russian strikes were not immediately available.
According to the head of the local military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, "Kherson is still under fire from Russian artillery," he wrote on Telegram.
The city, occupied for several months in 2022 by troops from Moscow, was liberated last November following a successful counter-offensive by kyiv in the region. Since then, Kherson has been under regular bombardment, with the Russian army only being located on the other side of the Dnieper River, which acts as a natural front line.
Oleksandr Prokudin also announced on Wednesday a curfew in Kherson, starting Friday evening, May 5, for 58 hours, when Kiev says it is completing its preparations for a major offensive. "From 8 p.m. (5 p.m. GMT) on May 5, a curfew will be in place in Kherson, and it will last until 6 a.m. (3 a.m. GMT) on May 8," he said earlier. during the day.
“During these 58 hours, it will be forbidden to move and be on the streets of the city. (Kherson) will also be closed to entry and exit,” he added.
Oleksandr Prokudin justified "these temporary restrictions" by "the need" for "law enforcement to be able to do their job".
The region around Bakhmout in the Donbass, epicenter of the fighting for several months, is for example more hilly, while those in the south of Kherson and Zaporijia further south are made up of large agricultural plains.
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