UPDATE - Death toll from Russian airstrikes on Ukraine’s Kherson region rises to 21

REVISES HEADLINE, DECK & LEDE, UPDATES CASUALTY COUNT, ADDS STATEMENT FROM UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – At least 21 people were killed and 48 others injured Wednesday by Russian airstrikes in Ukraine’s Kherson region.

"As of now, 21 people have been killed! 48 wounded! All civilians! In one incomplete day! In one region! My condolences to the families and friends of the victims," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram.

The airstrikes targeted a railway station, a crossing, a house, a hardware store, a supermarket and a gas station, he said.

"We will never forgive the culprits. We will defeat the evil state and hold all the perpetrators accountable."

Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, said in an earlier statement on Telegram that at least 18 people were killed and 46 injured in the strikes, which were continuing.

Earlier, the Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office said 12 people were killed and 22 were injured in the regional center as of 4.30 p.m. local time (1330 GMT).

“Under the procedural guidance of the Kherson District Prosecutor's Office, a pre-trial investigation was started on the fact of violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder,” it said.

The Russia-Ukraine war, now in its second year, has killed 8,709 civilians and wounded 14,666, according to the latest UN figures.