A 77-year-old man was killed in the Ukrainian city of Kherson after Russian forces fired artillery at the city on the morning of 5 October, Ukrainian authorities said.

The death adds to Kherson's toll as Russian forces maintain relentless artillery and drone strikes on the liberated city, killing over 250 civilians and firing more than 200,000 shells since Ukrainian forces retook the regional capital in November 2022.

The man suffered fatal injuries while outdoors during the attack, according to investigators.

The Kherson Regional Prosecutor’s Office has opened a pre-trial investigation, classifying the strike as a war crime. Prosecutors and investigators are continuing to document violations committed by Russian troops in the region.

Kherson sits on the Dnipro River's west bank, liberated by Ukrainian forces in November 2022 after nine months of Russian occupation. 

Russian troops entrenched on the east bank have subjected the city to constant bombardment ever since, with authorities documenting over 39,000 attacks in 2024 alone that killed 251 people and injured 1,838 others.

The city has become a testing ground for what researchers call "human safari" tactics - Russian operators flying small drones across the river to hunt individual civilians, often also targeting rescue workers responding to initial strikes. 

About 60,000 residents remain in the city despite daily artillery barrages, aerial bombs, and drone attacks that have destroyed infrastructure and cut power and water supplies repeatedly.