Sawt Falasteen - Russia blames Ukraine for deadly New Year drone strike

The accusations come at a crunch moment after weeks of diplomacy aimed at brokering an end to the near four-year war, and as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was "10 percent" away from a peace deal.

According to a Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, "the enemy" fired three drones that "struck a cafe and hotel on the Black Sea coast in Khorly" where "civilians were celebrating the New Year".

Kyiv has not commented on the allegations.

Russia's Investigative Committee said it had opened a probe into the attack which had "killed more than 20 people and injured many more."

A building gutted by fire, piles of smouldering rubble and charred bodies were seen in pictures that Saldo posted on Telegram.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of carrying out a "terrorist" attack against the civilian population.

Zelensky said Russia was carrying the war "into the New Year" with more than 200 drones fired overnight, mainly targeting energy facilities.

"A significant number of consumers" were cut off from power, Ukraine's power operator Ukrenergo said. Railway and port infrastructure was also damaged in the latest barrage.

- New talks in sight -

Ukraine came under intense pressure in 2025, both from Russian bombardment and on the battlefield, where it has steadily ceded ground to the Russian army.

An AFP analysis based on Ukrainian air force data showed a slight fall in overnight Russian drone and missile attacks on Ukraine in December.

Russia fired at least 5,134 drones in overnight attacks in the final month of 2025, six percent less than the month before, while the number of missiles fell by 18 percent in the same period, according to the data.

However, the same data showed Ukraine destroyed a smaller share of the total sum of missiles and drones in December -- 80 percent, compared with 82 percent in November.

US President Donald Trump, who regularly complains he does not receive credit as a peacemaker, has engaged in talks with both sides in a bid to end the fighting.

Kyiv says Russia is not interested in peace and is deliberately trying to sabotage diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war to seize more Ukrainian territory.

Moscow earlier this week accused Ukraine of attempting a drone attack on one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's residences, drawing a sharp rebuttal from Kyiv who said there was no "plausible" evidence of such attack.

Ukraine's allies have also expressed scepticism about Russia's claim -- but Moscow on Thursday said it would hand over to the United States "decrypted data" from the drone that was allegedly targeting the secluded residence.

"These materials will be transferred to the American side through established channels," Russia's defence ministry said in a statement.

Zelensky said on Tuesday he would hold a meeting with leaders of Kyiv's allies from the so-called coalition of the willing next week in France.

The summit will be preceded by a meeting of security advisers from the allied countries on Saturday in Ukraine.

K.Hassan--SF-PST