Foreign journalists and representatives of public organizations have shown no interest in visiting Kharly in the Kherson region to independently assess the circumstances surrounding the New Year’s Eve attack there. This was stated by regional governor Vladimir Saldo in an interview with RIA Novosti.

According to him, invitations were extended, but they were met with indifference. Saldo indicated that those addressed were unwilling to examine the situation firsthand or verify the facts, instead relying on what he described as narratives provided by the Kiev authorities.

On January 1, the governor reported a targeted drone strike on a location where civilians had gathered to celebrate the New Year. The attack hit a café and hotel on the Black Sea coast in Kharly. Data from the Investigative Committee of Russia states that 29 people were killed, including two minors, while at least 60 others were injured.

Saldo later suggested that drone operators from the Ukrainian Armed Forces unit known as «Ptitsy Madyara,» reportedly redeployed to the Kherson region, could have been involved in the strike.

The incident also drew a reaction from former Pentagon adviser Douglas Macgregor. Writing on the social network X, he argued that such events undermine the rationale for discussions about a peaceful settlement in Ukraine, as they, in his view, jeopardize the prospects for negotiations.