Christmas in Ukraine overshadowed by Russian attacks

By Stefan J. Bos

Christmas is far from peaceful in Ukraine, with authorities saying that waves of Russian shelling and drone attacks on the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson have claimed several lives.

Kherson governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported the first fatality on Saturday and has since confirmed at least three others. A further nine people were reportedly injured.

Elsewhere, officials said Ukrainian air defenses destroyed all but one of the 15 drones launched by Russia overnight, mainly in the south of the country.

The Ukrainian Air Force noted that 14 Shahed drones were destroyed in the Mykolaiv, Kirovohrad, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro, and Khmelnytskyi regions.

Earlier, Ukrainian officials reported Friday that their military shot down three Russian Su-34 fighter jets, reportedly with U.S.-delivered Patriot missiles on Friday. Moscow has not commented, but well-informed Russian online commentators acknowledged the losses.

And there was more fighting: Footage has emerged of troops of Ukraine's Lyut Assault Brigade storming a Russian trench. They captured a visibly frightened Russian soldier during a close-quarters gun battle near Bakhmut.

Trucks entering

It came as trucks were entering Ukraine again via the Shehyni-Medyka border crossing after Polish protesters ended a blockade that had been in place since November 6.

The truckers had been blocking several crossings with Ukraine, demanding the European Union reinstate a system whereby Ukrainian firms need permits to operate in the bloc, as they fear competition from cheaper drivers.

Though goods arrived once again in Ukraine, the fighting showed that Christmas would be overshadowed by death and destruction.

Several estimates suggest that hundreds of thousands of people on both sides have been killed, many of them soldiers whose lives had just begun.

The war that broke out with Russia's invasion in February last year is Europe's bloodiest battle since World War Two.

Pope Francis has expressed his closeness to those suffering in this nearly two-year-old armed conflict.