Russian Rocket Barrage Hits Kherson Playground, Killing Father and Wounding Two Girls

Russian forces struck a children's playground in the Korabelnyi district of Kherson on May 27, killing the father of a large family and wounding a mother and her two young daughters, according to local authorities.

Yaroslav Shanko, head of the Kherson City Military Administration, reported the attack, noting that the daughters were aged three and six.

Shanko described the playground as a site the Russians "apparently deemed a 'military target,'" before what he called a "devastating strike" was launched beside it.

Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, confirmed that the father had died at the scene and detailed the assault, which hit a residential quarter with multiple-launch rocket systems at around 5:30 p.m.

The three-year-old remained in extremely grave condition with a blast injury and shrapnel wounds to her head, torso, arms, legs, and chest, Prokudin noted.

Medics gave her first aid and evacuated her to Mykolaiv, where surgeons removed shrapnel from her head and planned to transfer her to the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv once her condition allowed.

Read more

Category

War in Ukraine

“Human Safari”: Russian Drone Pilots Intentionally Hunt Civilians on Ukraine’s Streets

Jan 07, 2026 15:13

Her six-year-old sister underwent surgery for a blast injury and shrapnel wounds to her back and was in moderate condition with no threat to her life, he added. The mother also remained in grave condition with shrapnel wounds to her limbs and abdomen, concussion, and blast and closed head injuries, as doctors fought to save her.

Prokudin stated that two other children in the family, an adult daughter and a minor son, had been placed under the care of regional children's services. He urged residents of dangerous frontline communities to evacuate, offering help with both departure and resettlement.

The attack fits a documented pattern of Russian strikes on Kherson's civilians, who are routinely targeted in open areas, at transit stops, and near their homes.

Across the region's de-occupied territories, such attacks have killed 287 civilians, including children, and wounded more than 2,500, with the city of Kherson alone accounting for roughly 127 of those deaths and over 1,750 of the injuries.

Protect Ukrainian Skies

Subscribe to Sky Defense