2:53 p.m. ET, December 18, 2022
Russian shelling in Kherson region kills 3 people and leaves 6 wounded, Ukrainian official says
From Kostan Nechyporenko in Kyiv and Lauren Kent in London
Three people have been killed and six people wounded in attacks from Russian forces in Ukraine's Kherson region Sunday, according to a local Ukrainian official.
Fifty-four shells have fallen in the region over the last day, said Yuri Sobolevsky, deputy head of the Kherson regional council.
"Unfortunately, we have dozens of wounded and dozens of dead since the beginning of the de-occupation," Sobolevsky said, referring to Ukraine's liberation of Kherson city and the
intense fighting that has taken place in the surrounding area since.
"We understand that we will have such a situation for some time, because until the Armed Forces of Ukraine de-occupy the left bank (of the Dnipro River), the enemy has the opportunity to shell Kherson and other settlements with MLRS, artillery, mortars," Sobolevsky said, speaking in a telethon.
He also said the electricity infrastructure in Kherson is now working, but noted that several communities are still left without power supply.
Sobolevsky also claimed that Russian forces have attacked humanitarian infrastructure, including medical facilities, humanitarian centers and a geriatric care center.
"It seems that they are really just shelling at residential areas indiscriminately," he said.
Some background: The
jubilation that followed Ukraine’s success in liberating Kherson city has given way to weeks of deadly fighting in the surrounding area.
Russian forces have staked out positions east of the Dnipro River and have repeatedly shelled settlements where Ukraine is trying to reestablish control.