War

Russian strike on Kherson playground kills father, injures family

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Russian strike on Kherson playground kills father, injures family
An overgrown playground is seen in Kherson, Ukraine, on Nov. 27, 2022. This photo is for illustrative purposes. (Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Russian forces struck a children's playground in the city of Kherson on May 27, killing one person and injuring four others, including two children, local authorities said.

The injured included a 36-year-old woman and her two daughters, ages 3 and 6, local officials said. The girls' father was also killed in the attack, police later confirmed.

The strike occurred around 5:30 p.m. local time in the Korabelny district, where Russian forces fired multiple-launch rocket systems at a playground where families had gathered, according to city military administration head Yaroslav Shanko.

The mother and her daughters suffered blast injuries and multiple shrapnel wounds and were receiving medical treatment, Shanko said. A 50-year-old man was also injured.

Kherson, located near the front line in southern Ukraine, has faced frequent Russian attacks since Ukrainian forces retook the city in November 2022.

Since the summer of 2024, Russian drone attacks have intensified, with Russian drone operators deliberately targeting civilians in what has become known as the "human safari."

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Lucy Pakhnyuk

News Editor

Lucy Pakhnyuk is a North America-based news editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked in international development, specializing in democracy, human rights, and governance across Eastern Europe and Eurasia. Her experience includes roles at international NGOs such as Internews, the National Democratic Institute, and Eurasia Foundation. She holds an M.A. in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies and a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

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