On the evening of 26 December, Russian forces shelled the railway station in Kherson City, killing a police officer and injuring at least four other people.

The attack damaged the station building and rolling stock, Ukraine’s national railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia reported, adding that several employees were injured while passengers were taking shelter.

The attack started at about 18:10, according to the Prosecutor General’s office.

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Klymenko said some 140 civilians were waiting for an evacuation train to depart from the railway station when Russians started a massive shelling attack on the city.

Later, Ukrzaliznytsia updated that the passengers safely reached Mykolaiv City by bus, while the train was to depart for Kyiv according to the dispatch schedule. Meanwhile, due to security concerns, the railway operator plans to divert its trains from Kherson to Mykolaiv, situated further away from the frontline, those departing from Lviv and Kyiv.