Pro-Russian authorities accused kyiv forces of firing a missile on Sunday at a hotel in Kherson, a city under Russian occupation in southern Ukraine, killing two people, including a former deputy.
These claims could not immediately be independently verified.
"
Today, at approximately 5:30 a.m., the Ukrainian Armed Forces fired a missile at the Play Hotel by Ribas
" in Kherson, the Russian occupation regional administration said in a statement.
“
According to preliminary data, two people died in this terrorist act
,” she added.
"
Rescue workers are still digging through the rubble looking for victims
."
Read alsoIn Kherson, the Ukrainian army launches its counter-offensive
An official of the Russian regional administration, Kirill Stremoussov, claimed that a former Ukrainian deputy, Oleksiy Jouravko, a pro-Russian sympathizer, was among those killed.
According to pro-Russian authorities, this hotel also housed journalists from Russian media at the time of the strike.
Russian state broadcaster RT has released footage it says shows one of its cameramen being pulled out of a pile of rubble.
The announcement of this strike comes as the pro-Russian authorities of four areas controlled by Moscow in Ukraine, including in the Kherson region, have been organizing "referendums" since Friday to ratify an annexation of these territories by Russia.
These polls, described as "
simulacra
" by Kiev and its Western allies, must take place until Tuesday.
The city of Kherson fell under the control of Russian forces at the start of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine in late February.
It is located in an area where kyiv forces have been leading a large-scale counter-offensive for several weeks.
