Russian attacks in Kherson kill four civilians, injure nine others
Waves of Russian bombings and drone attacks on the Kherson region in southern Ukraine have claimed four lives.
Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin announced on Saturday that a drone attack killed a man in the town of Stanislav, southeast of the city of Kherson. It has since confirmed three more deaths.
On Sunday morning, Prokudin wrote on Telegram that a couple in their 80s were killed after a Russian artillery shell hit a residential building, while the body of a dead man was discovered in central Kherson after clearing the rubble. His identity is still being established, he added.
According to the kyiv Independent, the region has been attacked 88 times over the past day.
Key events
Trucks enter Ukraine ‘as usual’ after Polish protesters lift blockade
Trucks have started crossing the border into Ukraine again after protesting Polish truckers unblocked the key Shehyni-Medyka border crossing.
Truckers have been blocking several crossings with Ukraine since November 6, demanding that the EU restore a system under which Ukrainian companies need a permit to operate in the bloc, and that the same applies to truckers Europeans seeking to enter Ukraine.
They were later joined by farmers who demanded government subsidies for corn and no tax increases.
On Saturday, Kiev Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced the end of the blockade of the Shehyni-Medyka crossing, with Ukrainian border services confirming this morning that truck movement has been fully restored.
The service wrote on Telegram: “Truck traffic has been restored: Polish farmers have lifted the blockade in front of the Medyka – Shehyni crossing. »
The service cited Polish border guards as saying the protest action in front of the border crossing ended at 9:30 a.m. Kyiv time on Sunday.
“Registration and passage of trucks entering Ukraine is carried out as usual,” the statement added.
Although that blockade has been lifted, truckers said they would maintain the blockade at three other crossings over Christmas and let even fewer trucks through than before.
Russian attacks in Kherson kill four civilians, injure nine others
Waves of Russian bombings and drone attacks on the Kherson region in southern Ukraine have claimed four lives.
Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin announced on Saturday that a drone attack killed a man in the town of Stanislav, southeast of the city of Kherson. It has since confirmed three more deaths.
On Sunday morning, Prokudin wrote on Telegram that a couple in their 80s were killed after a Russian artillery shell hit a residential building, while the body of a dead man was discovered in central Kherson after clearing the rubble. His identity is still being established, he added.
According to the kyiv Independent, the region has been attacked 88 times over the past day.
Poland’s new foreign minister has called on European countries to rearm in the face of the Russian threat, saying wars “are not decided by tactical commitments but by industrial capabilities.”
Radosław Sikorski, who took office as foreign minister this month, made the comments in an interview after returning from his first official visit to Ukraine.
As the West, we are 20 times richer than Russia, but if Russia puts its economy on a wartime basis and we continue on a peacetime basis, it can surpass us. Wars are not decided by tactical commitments but by industrial capabilities, and we are behind the times.
During his trip, Sikorski met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, as well as the country’s foreign and defense ministers.
Ukrainian air defenses destroyed all but one of the 15 drones launched by Russia overnight, mainly in the south of the country.
The Air Force of Ukraine said on Telegram: “As a result of air battles, the Air Force and the Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed 14 shaheds in the regions of Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Khmelnytskyi. »
The drones were launched from the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov in Russia, the statement added.
Reuters was unable to independently verify this information. There was no immediate comment from Russia. No damage or casualties were reported by military and civilian authorities.
Waves of Russian shelling and drone attacks hit southern Ukraine’s Kherson region on Saturday, killing one person and injuring seven, officials in the region said, Reuters reports.
Russian forces also bombed a power plant closer to the front lines in eastern Ukraine, injuring five workers and cutting power to the town of Kurakhovo.
A year ago, Russian forces abandoned their positions on the west bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, but are constantly shelling some areas from new positions on the east bank. Ukrainian troops have established bridgeheads on the eastern bank.
Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said a drone attack killed a man in the town of Stanislav, southeast of the city of Kherson, which for a year has been under Ukrainian control but subject to constant Russian bombing .
The town suffered several Russian attacks throughout the day, including a sustained attack on residential areas in the early evening, and Prokudin said seven residents were injured.
In the east of the country, the Russian bombing of a thermal power station in the town of Kurakhove injured five workers and caused a power outage, the head of the local administration, Roman Padun, told the Suspilne public channel.
Opening summary
Welcome to our ongoing live coverage of the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Headlines: Waves of Russian bombings and drone attacks hit southern Ukraine’s Kherson region on Saturday, killing one person and injuring seven, officials in the region said.
A year ago, Russian forces abandoned their positions on the west bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, but are constantly shelling some areas from new positions on the east bank. Ukrainian troops have established bridgeheads on the eastern bank.
Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said a drone attack killed a man in the town of Stanislav, southeast of the city of Kherson, which for a year has been under Ukrainian control but subject to constant Russian bombing .
More on this story shortly. In other key developments:
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Many Ukrainians will celebrate Christmas Day, December 25, for the first time on Monday., after the government changed the date of the Orthodox Church’s celebration of January 7, as a snub towards Russia, reports Agence France-Presse. The law signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainians wanted to “live their own lives with their own traditions and holidays.” This allows them to “abandon the Russian legacy of imposing Christmas celebrations on January 7,” he adds. Christianity is the most widespread religion in Ukraine, with the Russian Orthodox Church dominating religious life until recently.
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Former TV journalist Ekaterina Duntsova said she would challenge the decision to disqualify her in the Supreme Court to run in the Russian presidential election next year, calling it unjustified and undemocratic.
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Poland’s new foreign minister called on European countries to strengthen their long-term plans for military production after returning from his first visit abroad, to neighboring Ukraine. “Wars are not decided by tactical commitments but by industrial capabilities, and we are late,” said Radosław Sikorski, in an interview in Warsaw, a few hours after his return from kyiv on Saturday.
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Financial institutions that support the Russian military-industrial complex will be blacklisted in the United States after President Joe Biden signed an executive order yesterday deny sanctioned banks access to the US financial system.
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Ukrainians of fighting age in Estonia could be extradited to their home country and forced to take part in the war effort in a context of shortage of soldiers. Estonian state broadcaster ERR reports that the Baltic nation is ready to support Ukraine in its proposals to conscript Ukrainian men abroad for military service.
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The Communist Party of Russia, the second largest party in Parliament, chose a 75-year-old candidate.Nikolai Kharitonov, who won just under 14 percent of the national vote when he ran against Putin in 2004, is running for president.
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The assassination of the head of the Wagner mercenary army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was approved by a close ally of Vladimir Putinthe Wall Street Journal reported after conversations with Western intelligence officials and a former Russian intelligence officer.
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Protesting Polish truckers unblocked the key Shehyni-Medyka border crossing between Poland and Ukraine, The Minister of Economy of kyiv, Yulia Svyrydenko, announced this, welcoming a “significant improvement”.
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Ukrainian and Russian troops are suffering from “exceptional levels of rat and mouse infestation”. in certain sectors of the front line, according to British intelligence. The Department of Defense says rodent populations have increased due to warmer temperatures in recent months and an abundance of food.
