Russian forces bomb railway station and a police officer dies, says Ukrainian minister

Russian forces shelled the railway station in the city of Kherson, in southern Ukraine, this Tuesday (26).

The attack happened as a train was being prepared to evacuate residents from the area, killing a police officer and injuring four people, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said.

The minister said that around 140 civilians passed through a police station in the early evening and that the police's quick action to send them away saved many lives.

“Thanks to the actions of the police, everyone was successfully taken to safe locations,” Klymenko said on Telegram.

“Unfortunately, a police lieutenant from the Kirovohrad region lost his life due to shelling. Two more officers are in hospital with shrapnel injuries.” According to the minister, two civilians also suffered injuries caused by shrapnel.

Kherson was captured by Russian forces in the early days of the February 2022 invasion but retaken by Ukrainian forces just over a year ago.

The city is under constant attack from Russian forces entrenched in new positions on the east bank of the Dnipro River, with very heavy shelling in recent days.

A video posted on X (formerly Twitter) by Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko showed wreckage and rubble in different areas of the station.

❗️Russia attacked the train station in Kherson, where an evacuation train was scheduled to leave.

The train station and evacuation train were damaged. A police officer was killed. Several people who worked at the train station and two police officers were injured.

The… pic.twitter.com/0TV3Z2sXOC

— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) December 26, 2023

The body responsible for Ukrainian railways said the evacuated people were taken from the northwestern bus station to the city of Mykolaiv, which has been the target of fewer Russian attacks. Late trains were rescheduled.