Damage to a residential building in the Kherson region in southern Ukraine from Russian shelling, December 23, 2023
Map: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 1707 GMT:
The humanitarian organization Save Ukraine has returned three more children who were deported to Russian-occupied territories, bringing the total to almost 230.
Three children from temporarily occupied territories were successfully returned by our team. This concludes our 14th rescue mission, during which we saved 14 children, seven of whom were orphaned or deprived of parental care.
All three are now safe, awaiting recovery and… pic.twitter.com/CLZTaPZlj0
— Save Ukraine (@SaveukraineUs) December 24, 2023
An eight-year-old boy, Yelysei, is among the returnees. He lived with his grandmother in a Russian-occupied part of the Kherson region and was placed in an orphanage when she died. Save Ukraine helped Yelysei’s mother, who was sick and lived in the Odesa region, to get proper medical assistance and reunite her with her child.
Also returning are 18-year-old brothers Andrii and Mykhailo. They were orphans raised in a foster family in the occupied territory.
Ukrainian officials say they have confirmed the deportation of about 20,000 children to Russia or Russian-occupied areas. In March, the International Criminal Court issue arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Russia’s “Children’s Rights” Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova over the forced transfers.
UPDATE 1539 GMT:
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has condemned Russia’s killing of civilians in the Kherson region in the south of the country.
The elimination of the consequences of Russian strikes on Kherson lasted all night. Terrorists deliberately target civilian infrastructure and ordinary streets. Their shelling damaged a school, a boiler facility, hospitals, city heating networks, as well as private and… pic.twitter.com/mHxWQDShgF
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) December 24, 2023
UPDATE 1110 GMT:
Following talks between government officials of Poland and Ukraine, Polish truckers have lifted the blockade of the border crossing of Shehyni-Medyka.
Shehyni-Medyka was one of three crossings blocked over demands for access to Ukrainian markets and for the European Union to end its waivers of permits for Ukraine’s drivers.
More than 4,000 trucks had been backed up.
Ukraine Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko announced the end to the Shehyni-Medyka blockade, and the Ukrainian border service confirmed on Sunday morning that the movement of trucks has been fully restored.
Polish truckers say they will maintain the blockade at two other crossings. A fourth crossing has been opened by Ukraine and Poland to truck traffic.
UPDATE 1059 GMT:
The Ukraine Air Force says air defenses downed 14 of 15 drones launched by Russia overnight over the southern and western regions of Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Khmelnytskyi.
The drones were launched from inside Russia on the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Russian forces have killed four civilians, including two octogenarians, and injured nine in attacks on the Kherson region in southern Ukraine.
The Russian army fired artillery into the central part of the region, with one shell hitting a residential building.
An 87-year-old man and his 81-year-old wife died on the spot. The body of a man was discovered after rubble was cleared. A child was among the injured.
A 69-year-old man was slain in the village of Stanislav by a Russian drone.
Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the Russians attacked 88 times in 24 hours. Targets including medical facilities, residential areas, and educational institutions.
Ukraine forces liberated much of Kherson, including all territory west of the Dnipro River, in autumn 2022. The Russians on the east bank have continued daily shelling, with occasional missile and drone attacks, since then.
