Zelensky vows retaliation for family killed near Kherson

President Volodymyr Zelensky has declared revenge after a family of four was slain by Russian artillery fire in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson.

“Every occupier destroyed, every piece of Russian equipment burned, fire instead of their headquarters and warehouses, the very eloquent smoke on Kerch Bridge, and more—all of this proves that we will not leave any of Russia’s crimes unanswered,” he added in his Telegram video on Sunday.

Authorities said seven individuals were murdered and 15 others were injured in the Kherson region alone.

According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian artillery murdered five people on Sunday morning in the village of Shyroka Balka, including a family of four (father, mother, 12-year-old son, and a baby girl only approximately three weeks old).

During the day, the territory was shelled 17 times by Russian army artillery, Zelensky claimed in his presentation.

On Monday, the local military administration declared a regional day of mourning for the region.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced on Telegram that the infant girl’s parents were also murdered in the village of Shyroka Balka.

Klymenko claimed the baby’s 12-year-old brother was brought to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.

He later died in the hospital.

According to Andrii Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, two adults were slain in the adjoining community of Stanislav. “The enemy continues to shell the Kherson area,” he explained.

The communities are situated on the Dnipro River’s western bank, near its mouth into the Black Sea.

Last autumn, Russian forces left the area.

However, it is still inside their artillery range.

According to Ukrainian authorities, at least 500 children have been slain in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began more than 17 months ago.

Another 1,100 children were injured to varying degrees, according to the prosecutor’s office in Kiev, adding that the true figure is likely to be higher as authorities continue to investigate casualties in the war zone, areas liberated by Ukraine, and regions occupied by Russian troops.

The number of children killed and injured was highest in the eastern areas of Donetsk and Kharkiv along the frontline, followed by Kiev and Kherson in southern Ukraine.

Russia has been at war with Ukraine for over 17 months.

dpa/NAN