MOSCOW, January 1. /TASS/. British and European intelligence agencies are behind the attack on civilians in the village of Khorly in the Kherson Region on New Year's Eve. They are also the main stakeholders in the escalation, Lieutenant-General Apty Alaudinov, Deputy Chief of the Main Military-Political Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces and Commander of the Akhmat commandos of the Russian Defense Ministry, has told TASS.
"The attack on civilians celebrating New Year's in the Kherson Region once again proves that the Ukrainian side is doing everything possible to prevent a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. I believe that representatives of foreign intelligence agencies, primarily those of Britain and European countries, who have a vested interest in preventing the signing of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine, are behind all these actions," he said. Therefore, he continued, every step Ukraine takes daily "once again proves that Ukraine is not its own master." "The Ukrainian leadership is a puppet, controlled from the outside. It's clear that the main stakeholders in the further escalation of hostilities on Ukrainian territory and in ensuring that these actions are not stopped are Ukraine's foreign masters, primarily Britain," Alaudinov added.
He noted that Ukraine is reporting to US President Donald Trump its readiness to sign a peace agreement, while simultaneously taking actions that provoke the Russian side to retaliate, "which would already render this agreement impossible." "The Ukrainian side also doesn't care how many people die on the Russian side - civilians, women, children, and the elderly. Likewise, how many people die on the Ukrainian side - women, children, and the elderly. Deliberate actions that will obviously lead to escalation demonstrate that they are completely indifferent to the number of lives lost," he concluded.
On January 1, the Kherson Region’s Governor Vladimir Saldo reported that the Ukrainian forces had attacked a cafe and hotel in Khorly with drones, where civilians were celebrating the New Year. According to preliminary reports, at least 24 people were killed. One of the drones was armed with an incendiary device. Many of the victims were burned alive.