Russian Shelling Kills 10 After Zelensky Warns Nation

Shortly after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the Ukrainian people that the holiday season could prompt Russia to launch more attacks, shells struck Kherson's city center busy with shoppers on Saturday morning, killing at least 10 people. Ukrainian military officials had said Friday that Russian ships with cruise missiles had entered the Black Sea, the New York Times reports. An official said residential buildings were hit, as well as a shopping area. "With the approaching holiday season, Russian terrorists may become active again," Zelensky had said in his nightly address. "Therefore, please heed the air raid signals, help each other and always take care of each other."

Another 55 people were wounded, officials said, including two volunteers distributing food aid. Saturday was the 10-month anniversary of Russia's invasion, per the AP. Zelensky, just back from the US, posted photos of the destruction online and wrote that they show "the real life of Kherson." The images included burning cars, windows of buildings blown out, and bodies in the street. "In the morning, on Saturday, on the eve of Christmas, in the central part of the city," Zelensky wrote in the Telegram post. "These are not military facilities. This is not a war according to the rules defined. It is terror, it is killing for the sake of intimidation and pleasure." (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)