Mr. Medvedev: Ukraine will pay the price for the New Year’s Eve raid

When asked to comment on accusations that Ukraine raided hotels and cafes in Kherson province, Vice Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said on January 1 that “a sane person would not be able to find words to describe that action”.

“Only the language of uncompromising revenge is appropriate. Early retaliation is inevitable,” he emphasized, adding that Russia should target both those who directly caused the incident and their commanders.

Gennady Gatilov, Russia’s permanent representative at the United Nations Office in Geneva, also condemned the attack, saying that Ukraine’s purpose in carrying out this action was “to cling to power at all costs, distract attention from the military’s failures and sabotage efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict”.

This official asked the United Nations to condemn the attack “immediately”, and warned that continued silence would mean “open complicity and involvement” in the above action.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, accused the West of applying the method of “strategic silence” and turning a blind eye to similar actions by Ukraine over the years.

Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed governor of Kherson province, on January 1 accused Ukraine of conducting a drone attack on hotels and cafes in the village of Khorly, while civilians gathered to celebrate the New Year. The attack happened right before New Year’s Eve, a fire broke out in the cafe due to a UAV carrying an incendiary mixture.

The Russian Investigative Committee said at least 100 civilians were inside the cafe at the time, in addition to the cafe’s staff. The raid left 27 people dead, including two minors. 31 people were taken to medical facilities.

Mr. Saldo said the Madyar Birds, Ukraine’s elite drone unit, were deployed to Kherson province and were likely behind the attack.

Meanwhile, Dmytro Lykhoviy, spokesman for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army, affirmed that this force always complies with international humanitarian law standards and only attacks Russian military targets. He accused Moscow of continuously “giving false information and untrue statements”.

A source from the Ukrainian army confirmed to the news agency AFP that there had been a raid, but said the target was a military assembly point where civilians were not allowed.