Russia shells Kramatorsk and Kherson ahead of unilateral Christmas ceasefire

Russian forces shelled two Ukrainian cities on Friday, just hours ahead of the Kremlin's supposed Christmas ceasefire, which the West and Kyiv dismissed as a ploy.

The Kremlin announced a 36-hour ceasefire on Thursday that coincides with the Orthodox celebration of Christmas, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address, “Everyone in the world knows how the Kremlin uses respites at war to continue the war with renewed vigor."

Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidency of Ukraine, said that in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine, "occupants hit the city twice with rockets. A private residential building was hit," and that "at least 4 explosions were recorded" in Kherson, in the southern part of the country. "A house in the private sector was burning next to the shelled fire station."

At least four people were killed in Kherson on Thursday from Russian attacks. A family of three was killed in their home in the city of Beryslav due to shelling, said Tymoshenko. A teenager was also killed.