On the morning of 29 September, Russian forces shelled a checkpoint in Kherson, killing a 40-year-old police officer and injuring another law enforcement officer. A local resident was also killed, and a civilian man was injured in a separate attack.
According to Oleksandr Prokudin, Kherson Oblast Govenror, Russian forces opened fire on a checkpoint in the city. The attack killed a 40-year-old police officer on the spot. A 21-year-old officer sustained mine-blast injuries and concussion and was hospitalized, the National Police of Ukraine reports.
In Kherson’s Dniprovskyi district, Russian forces dropped explosives from a drone on a private house, injuring a 46-year-old man.
“In the same district, as a result of enemy shelling, a local resident received fatal wounds,” Prokudin said. Authorities are currently identifying the victim.
On 29 September, Russian shelling also damaged the Assumption Cathedral of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate (UOC-MP) in Kherson, according to the Social Service of the Kherson Diocese.
The attack occurred during a service.
“At approximately 9:30 in the morning, during the shelling of Kherson by Russian forces, one of the shells hit the roof of the central altar of the Assumption Cathedral in Kherson. At the time of the shelling, the Divine Liturgy was being performed in the St. Nicholas chapel,” the cathedral staff reported.
Fragments of the building fell from the roof. A hole from the explosion is visible in the ceiling, and bricks and boards are scattered inside and outside the cathedral. No one was injured in the attack on the church.
The Russian military regularly attacks Ukrainian regions with various types of weapons.
Russia’s leadership denies that the Russian army, during a full-scale war, conducts targeted strikes on the civilian infrastructure of Ukrainian cities and villages, killing civilians and destroying hospitals, schools, kindergartens, energy and water supply facilities.
The Ukrainian authorities and international organizations qualify these strikes as war crimes of Russia and emphasize that they are targeted.
On the night of 27-28 September, Russian forces launched an attack on Ukraine using over 500 drones and more than 40 missiles of various types. By the number of missiles deployed, this became one of the largest attacks in 2025.
In Kyiv, the Institute of Cardiology building was damaged, where two people died, along with a kindergarten. Four deaths are confirmed in the capital, including a 12-year-old girl. About 14 people were injured.
Previous attacks on the church
Russian forces have damaged the cathedral multiple times. On the night of 14 December 2023, a direct hit damaged the main dome. On 4 February 2024, another shelling damaged the facade, windows, and entrance doors.
The Holy Assumption Cathedral in Kherson was built in 1798 at the initiative of local merchants. The church was constructed of brick in a cross-domed style. In 1833, the wooden bell tower was rebuilt in stone. The first restoration work was carried out in the mid-19th century.
The cathedral housed a large library. In 1853, a vicar bishops’ department of the Kherson diocese was established there.
After the 1918-1920 war, Kherson was occupied by the Bolsheviks, who created a Commission for the Separation of Church from State. In 1922, a contract was signed with the religious community of the Assumption Cathedral for the transfer of property for lease.
During the USSR’s industrialization period, the cathedral was forced to remove all elements containing copper, silver, bronze, and other non-ferrous metals. In 1931, the cathedral premises were converted into a gymnasium.
After Ukraine’s independence, restoration of the Assumption Cathedral began. In September 1993, the building was returned to the community, whose charter had been registered on 15 November 1991.