A shell hits Kherson, Ukraine. 7 dead, 58 injured | WGN Radio 720

Kyiv, UKRAINE (AP) — Russian artillery shells hit the southern Ukraine city of Kherson on Saturday, killing seven people and wounding another 58 in the city that Moscow forces were forced to abandon last month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has just returned from a short trip to Washington and posted pictures of the wreckage on his social media accounts. And for many Orthodox Christians, it culminates in the traditional celebration of January 7th.

“This is not sensitive content. It is Kherson’s real life,” Zelensky tweeted. Images showed burning cars, dead bodies on the street, and blown out windows of buildings.

Deputy head of the presidential office Kirilo Tymoshenko said Saturday’s Kherson shelling killed seven people and wounded 58, including at least 16 seriously.

Saturday marks 10 months since the start of the Russian invasion.

Ukraine has faced a ferocious onslaught of Russian artillery, missiles, artillery fire and drone attacks since early October, many of which have slashed their energy infrastructure to cut power and heating services as the frigid winter progresses. Artillery fire has been particularly intense in Kherson since Russian forces withdrew and Ukrainian forces recaptured the southern city in November.

Earlier on Saturday, Donetsk Regional Governor Pavlo Kirilenko said two people had been killed and five injured in the previous day’s shelling. The deaths occurred in Krakhov, a town of about 20,000 people 30 kilometers west of the Russian-held city of Donetsk.

A total of about 60 shells hit three communities in the Nikopol region during the night, said Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentin Reznichenko.

According to Governor Oleksander Stalf, the settlement of Stepne outside Zaporizhia was also hit by artillery fire, but the details of casualties are unknown.

Zelensky returned to Kyiv after a trip to Washington. There he also secured his $1.8 billion military aid package.

On Friday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the war would end at the negotiating table if a “special military operation” achieved Russia’s goals. He said the reported Ukrainian peace plan cannot succeed without taking into account “today’s realities that cannot be ignored.” Refers to Moscow’s request that Ukraine recognize other territorial acquisitions.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine