Russian shells have pounded the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, killing 10 people and injuring 55 more in a city Moscow was forced to abandon last month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, just back from a short trip to Washington, posted photos of the wreckage on his social media accounts.
He noted the destruction came as Ukrainians were beginning Christmas celebrations which for many Orthodox Christians will culminate in a traditional celebration on January 7.
“This is not sensitive content — it’s the real life of Kherson,” he tweeted. The images showed cars on fire, bodies in the street and building windows blown out.
Yaroslav Yanushevych, the governor of the Kherson region, said the number of people killed in the latest shelling of the city had risen from seven to 10.
He added that 55 people were wounded, 18 of them in grave condition.
Saturday marks 10 months since the start of the Russian invasion.
Ukraine has faced an onslaught of Russian artillery fire, missiles, shelling and drone attacks since early October, much of it targeting energy infrastructure in a bid to cut electricity and heating services as the freezing winter advances.
The shelling has been especially intense in Kherson since Russian forces withdrew and Ukraine’s army reclaimed the city in November.
Thank you @POTUS. It's an honor for me to visit 🇺🇸, to address the 🇺🇸 people and Congress, to meet with the leader of the country that helps us stand. And win! This visit showed our countries stand together on the side of good, democracy and justice. Creating the future together! https://t.co/Kefewl66nr
— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 23, 2022
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Earlier on Saturday, the Donetsk regional governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said two people had been killed and five wounded in shelling there over the past day.
The deaths were in Kurakhove, a town of about 20,000 which is 18 miles west of the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk.
About 60 shells hit three communities during the night in the area of Nikopol, said Dnipropetrovsk regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko.
Stepne, a settlement on the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia, was also hit by shelling but there were no details on casualties, according to governor Oleksander Starukh.
Mr Zelensky has returned to Kyiv after his trip to the US, in which he secured another £1.5 billion in military aid.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov claimed the war will end at the negotiating table once the “special military operation“ achieves Russia’s goals.
He said no reported Ukrainian peace plan can succeed without taking into account “the realities of today that can’t be ignored” — a reference to Moscow’s demand that Ukraine recognises Russia’s sovereignty over the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed in 2014, as well as other territorial gains.
