At least 8 people dead and 58 wounded after Russian forces shell Kherson 

Deputy head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko reported the update.

According to him the Russian forces shelled the center of the city with Grad multiple rocket launchers.

According to the updated data, the number of wounded increased to 58. Of these, 18 are in serious condition. Tymoshenko also notes that 8 civilians were killed.

Later, the head of Kherson Regional State Administration Yaroslav Yanushevych published a video from the scene of the tragedy. He noted that the Russians attacked the most crowded places: the market, shopping center, residential buildings, and administrative buildings.

"There are no military facilities even nearby. This is a targeted attack on civilians," Yanushevych wrote.

Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office launched a pre-trial investigation into the violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

As of 12:49 p.m., the prosecutor's office reported the death of at least 8 civilians.

It is noted that the Russian forces hit civilian infrastructure: residential buildings, administrative buildings and vehicles.

The Ukrainian State Emergency Service added that 6 cars caught fire by the shelling of multiple rocket launchers in a residential area of Kherson.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy also commented on the shelling of the Kherson’s center. He noted that social networks may mark photos from the scene of the tragedy as "sensitive content," but this is the real life of Ukraine and Ukrainians.

"The terrorist country continues bringing the Russian world in the form of shelling of the civilian population. Kherson. In the morning, on Saturday, on the eve of Christmas, in the central part of the city. 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," he wrote.

Earlier the Deputy head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko also reported on the shelling of Kherson.

"People were killed and buildings were destroyed. The city center, a day off, many people on the street," Tymoshenko wrote.

• On December 23, the Russian forces attacked the Kherson region 74 times. Kherson residential buildings were hit 36 times.