At least seven died in a Ukrainian strike against a city in the Russian-occupied Kherson region, according to local officials.

Ukrainian officials said their armed forces used U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) missiles to successfully target a Russian ammunition depot in Nova Kakhovka, a city located to the east of the occupied regional capital of Kherson. “Advisor to Head of Kherson administration Serhii Khlan confirmed that the Ukrainian Army hit the ammunition warehouse that Russia had in Nova Kakhovka. What a pretty sight,” tweeted Ukraine’s Advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs Anton Gerashchenko. 

Local officials say the Ukrainian strike hit the city’s residential area, including a marketplace and hospital. "Unfortunately, there are casualties, a large number of injured, dozens of people were left homeless," occupation official Vladimir Leontyev told Russian state news outlet TASS. "There are already seven dead for sure. There are still many people under the rubble. The injured are being taken to the hospital, but many people are blocked in their apartments and houses.” Unverified footage posted on social media showed sparks, smoke, and an explosion from sites identified by Ukrainian sources as a Russian ammunition depot in the Kherson region. Russian and Russian-aligned officials say the blast occurred at a fertilizer warehouse, not a munitions depot. 

HIMARS, which offers a significantly longer range and greater accuracy than most of the missile systems used by Ukraine since the Russian invasion commenced on February 24, is credited with facilitating Ukrainian strikes on Russian targets in occupied eastern Ukraine.

It remains to be seen to what extent Ukraine’s efforts to target Russian fuel and ammunition depots will succeed in thwarting or otherwise slowing down Russia’s ongoing campaign to consolidate control over eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region. The Biden administration signed off on delivering HIMARS missiles to Ukraine after reportedly being assured by Kyiv officials that they will not use the heavy, longer-range weapons to strike Russian targets inside Russia. However, there does not appear to be a verification mechanism to guarantee that the missile systems are not used against targets outside of Ukrainian territory. 

Ukrainian officials and lawmakers have argued that Ukraine’s military is within its rights to strike Belarus, a Russian military ally, and Russian targets in Russia. “Ukraine has every right to hit Russia and Belarus,” wrote Ukrainian lawmaker Lesia Vasylenko. “That’s what article 51 of the UN Charter is all about: right to self-defence. In self-defence we have the right to destroy sites from, which we are attacked.” Kyiv has, so far, denied or refused to comment on Russian allegations that Ukraine’s armed forces are behind a string of recent drone, helicopter, and artillery attacks against far-western Russian border towns, including Belgorod and Bryansk.

Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for the National Interest.

Image: DVIDS.