What shelling in Kherson and Sumy regions did by 30 January 2023

What did the war look like for ordinary communities in Ukraine's regions as of 30 January 2023? The reports from the preceding days point to damage to public buildings in the south and the north-east, as well as a contested claim from the east.

In the south, Russian forces shelled the city of Kherson on 29 January 2023. Three people were killed and six others injured. The shelling also damaged a hospital, a school and a bus station.

In the north-east, on 28 January 2023, the Russian Air Force launched an airstrike on Seredyna-Buda in Sumy Oblast. A kindergarten was destroyed and nearby residential buildings were damaged. No casualties were reported. The towns of Esman and Shalyhyne were also damaged by cross-border shelling.

A claim from Luhansk Oblast

On the same day, 28 January 2023, Russia claimed that a Ukrainian HIMARS missile strike on a hospital in Novoaidar, Luhansk Oblast, had killed 14 people and injured 24 others, including patients and medical staff. That was Russia's claim.

Taken together, the reports from 28 and 29 January 2023 show a pattern in which hospitals, a school, a kindergarten and a transport hub in regional towns were affected. For local authorities, this meant dealing with damaged public infrastructure alongside the human toll.