Russian soldiers used stun grenades and gunfire to break up a protest in the Ukrainian city of Kherson on Monday, officials said.
Videos from scene show hundreds of protesters approaching a city square before being forced to run away after automatic gunfire breaks out.
Loud bangs were also heard and clouds of white smoke could be seen. ⚡️⚡️⚡️ Херсон. Окупанти обстріляли мирний мітинг. Нажаль є поранені pic.twitter.com/4XzIRWTfgW — МОСТ ХЕРСОН (@most_ks_ua) <a href=«https://twitter.com/most_ks_ua/status/1505867793413070856?ref_src=» https: globalnews.ca>March 21, 2022 The demonstrators were in Kherson’s Freedom square at the time of the incident, Reuters reports. “Russian security forces ran up, started throwing stun grenades into the crowd and shooting,” the Ukrainian armed forces’ press service said in a statement.
Russia did not immediately comment on the incident. Moscow has denied targeting civilians in the conflict it started on Feb.