A Russian strike on Ukraine’s recently recaptured city of Kherson killed at least 10 people, wounded 58 and left bloodied corpses on the road, authorities said, in what Kyiv condemned as wanton killing for pleasure.

* Three Ukrainian emergency workers were killed when a mine exploded while they were demining parts of the Kherson region, emergency services said.

* The lower house of Russia’s parliament is preparing to raise taxes on people who have left the country, as many have since the start of the war in February, said the speaker of the chamber, Vyacheslav Volodin.

* Pope Francis led the world’s Catholics into Christmas, saying in an apparent reference to the war in Ukraine and other conflicts that the level of greed and hunger for power was such that some wanted to “consume even their neighbours”.

* Ukrainians will create their own Christmas miracle by showing they remain unbowed despite Russian attacks that have plunged millions into darkness, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a defiant message.

* A top Ukrainian presidential aide called for the “liquidation” of Iranian factories making drones and missiles, as well as the arrest of their suppliers, as Kyiv accused Tehran of planning to supply more weapons to Russia.

Source: Tap News Agency