Russian Shelling Kills 16 in Kherson Region, Says Ukraine

This photograph taken on May 3, 2023, shows a damaged train station building following a Russian strike in the southern Ukrainian town of Kherson, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph taken on May 3, 2023, shows a damaged train station building following a Russian strike in the southern Ukrainian town of Kherson, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Russian Shelling Kills 16 in Kherson Region, Says Ukraine

This photograph taken on May 3, 2023, shows a damaged train station building following a Russian strike in the southern Ukrainian town of Kherson, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph taken on May 3, 2023, shows a damaged train station building following a Russian strike in the southern Ukrainian town of Kherson, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

Sixteen civilians were killed on Wednesday in heavy Russian shelling of Ukraine's Kherson region that hit a hypermarket, a railway station and residential buildings, Ukrainian officials said.

Twelve of the victims were in the city of Kherson, the southern region's capital, where a hypermarket came under fire as people were doing their morning shopping and explosions tore through a railway station.

Four more were killed in villages outside the main city in attacks from areas of the Kherson region still occupied by Russia. They included three engineers trying to repair damage inflicted on the power grid in earlier Russian bombardments.

Pools of blood and piles of debris lay on the ground outside the Kherson hypermarket, whose entrance had been heavily damaged and cordoned off, Reuters correspondents on the scene said.

The interior ministry said the victims were all either customers or workers at the hypermarket.

"When the enemy can achieve nothing on the battlefield, it strikes at peaceful cities," Ukrainian military spokesperson Serhii Cherevatyi said.

Many windows were smashed at the railway station, and at least two survivors were seen being carried out on stretchers. Three women who had been eating at the time of the attack said they took cover under a table.

The prosecutor's office said 22 people had also been wounded in Kherson city in "chaotic shelling and strikes on civilian infrastructure facilities."

"We cannot negotiate with Russian murderers. They must be brought to justice. Or destroyed", Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said in a statement.

Russia did not comment on the attacks in Kherson, one of four Ukrainian regions it said it annexed last September.

Moscow has stepped up air strikes on Ukraine in the past few days as Kyiv prepares for a counteroffensive in which it is expected to try to retake occupied territory in Kherson region.

Ukrainian troops recaptured Kherson city last November after nearly eight months of occupation, but Russian troops retreated only as far as the opposite side of the Dnipro River, from where they now shell the city.

Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin on Wednesday announced a curfew in Kherson city to last from Friday evening until Monday morning for "law enforcement" reasons. He gave no other explanation.



US Issues New Sanctions Targeting Chinese Importers of Iranian Oil

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and the US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and the US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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US Issues New Sanctions Targeting Chinese Importers of Iranian Oil

FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and the US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Donald Trump and the US and Iran flags are seen in this illustration taken January 15, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

The United States on Wednesday issued new sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports, including against a China-based "teapot refinery", as President Donald Trump's administration seeks to ramp up pressure on Tehran.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement the action would increase pressure on Chinese importers of Iranian oil as Trump seeks to restore his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, which includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero, Reuters reported.
The action comes as the Trump administration has relaunched negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program this month, with talks in Oman last weekend and a second round expected in Rome this weekend.
The Treasury on Wednesday said it imposed sanctions on a China-based independent "teapot" refinery it accused of playing a role in purchasing more than $1 billion worth of Iranian crude oil.
Washington also issued additional sanctions on several companies and vessels it said were responsible for facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China as part of Iran's "shadow fleet".
Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York and China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
China does not recognize US sanctions and is the largest importer of Iranian oil. China and Iran have built a trading system that uses mostly Chinese yuan and a network of middlemen, avoiding the dollar and exposure to US regulators.
"Any refinery, company, or broker that chooses to purchase Iranian oil or facilitate Iran’s oil trade places itself at serious risk," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.

"The United States is committed to disrupting all actors providing support to Iran’s oil supply chain, which the regime uses to support its terrorist proxies and partners."
The Treasury on Wednesday also updated guidance for shipping and maritime stakeholders on "detecting and mitigating Iranian oil sanctions evasion," warning, among other things, that Iran depends on a vast shadow fleet to disguise oil shipments.
The Treasury said it was the sixth round of sanctions targeting Iranian oil sales since Trump restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran, which includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero in order to help prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
In his first 2017-21 term, Trump withdrew the US from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran's uranium enrichment activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Trump also reimposed sweeping US sanctions.
Since then, Iran has far surpassed that deal's limits on uranium enrichment.
Western powers accuse Iran of having a clandestine agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they say is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program. Tehran says its nuclear program is wholly for civilian power purposes.
"All sanctions will be fully enforced under the Trump Administration’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a separate statement on Wednesday.
"As long as Iran attempts to generate oil revenues to fund its destabilizing activities, the United States will hold both Iran and all its partners in sanctions evasion accountable."