RT reported that on March 9, Kherson Governor Vladimir Saldo said that the Ukrainian army launched two missiles directly at stalls at a market in the province's Veliky town.
According to Mr. Saldo's Telegram announcement, when the airstrike occurred, dozens of civilians were present at the market. Photos of the scene accompanying the governor's post show a severely damaged building with dense smoke rising.
The missile was confirmed by Mr. Saldo to be launched from the HIMARS artillery missile system provided by the US.
The scene became more serious when a truck was destroyed, burned down and a person injured or possibly dead was lying next to it in a video circulating online.
Regional Health Minister Elena Borchaninova said that at least 7 civilians were injured, of which 1 person died later due to severe injuries. Some people from the Ministry of Health were also injured, including 1 medical staff member and 1 local emergency service driver.
The exact number of victims has not yet been officially determined, as the victims are still being transferred to the hospital. Some of the victims were transferred to the coastal city of Skadovsk, about 20 km south of Veliky Kopani.
Ukraine has not yet responded to this airstrike.
According to RT, Kiev has received the M142 HIMARS and M270 MLRS systems since mid-2022 from the US and Western partners.
HIMARS was previously seen as a key tool to attack Moscow's key targets. Ukraine often uses it to sabotage civilian targets deep inside Russia.
At the end of 2022, Russia announced the merger of 4 provinces of Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia of Ukraine, but has not yet taken control of all of these territories.
