On Wednesday, the shelling hit the maternity wing of a hospital, though no-one was hurt
\n KYIV
\nUkraine\u2019s recently liberated southern city of Kherson suffered intense mortar and artillery attacks from Russian forces across the Dnipro river, while the Kremlin rejected a Ukrainian peace plan, demanding that Kyiv accept its annexation of four regions.
\nKherson has remained under bombardment from Russian forces which had retreated to the east bank of the river when the city was retaken in a major victory for Ukraine last month.
\nOn Wednesday, the shelling hit the maternity wing of a hospital, though no-one was hurt, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy\u2019s deputy chief of staff. Staff and patients were moved to a shelter, Tymoshenko said in a post on Telegram.
\n\u201cIt was frightening … the explosions began abruptly, the window handle started to tear off … oh, my hands are still shaking,\u201d Olha Prysidko, a new mother, said. \u201cWhen we came to the basement, the shelling wasn\u2019t over. Not for a minute.\u201d
\nMoscow has repeatedly denied targeting civilians.
\nZelenskiy, in a video address, urged Ukrainians to hug loved ones, tell friends they appreciate them, support colleagues, thank their parents and rejoice with their children more often.
\n\u201cWe have not lost our humanity, although we have endured terrible months,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd we will not lose it, although there is a difficult year ahead.\u201d
\nRussia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Kyiv and its Western allies have denounced Russia\u2019s actions as an imperialist-style land grab. Russian President Vladimir Putin calls it a \u201cspecial military operation\u201d to demilitarize its neighbour.
\nSweeping sanctions have been imposed on Russia for the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people, driven millions from their homes, left cities in ruins and shaken the global economy, driving up energy and food prices.
\nRussian gas exports to Europe via pipelines collapsed to a post-Soviet low in 2022 as its largest customer cut imports due to the Ukraine conflict and a major pipeline was damaged by mysterious blasts, Gazprom data and Reuters calculations show.
\n\u2018TODAY\u2019S REALITIES\u2019
\nThere is still no prospect of talks to end the war.
\nZelenskiy is vigorously pushing a 10-point peace plan that envisages Russia respecting Ukraine\u2019s territorial integrity and pulling out all its troops.
\nBut Moscow dismissed it on Wednesday, reiterating Kyiv must accept Russia\u2019s annexation of the four regions – Luhansk and Donetsk in the east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.
\nThere can be no peace plan \u201cthat does not take into account today\u2019s realities regarding Russian territory, with the entry of four regions into Russia\u201d, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
\nRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Zelenskiy\u2019s idea of driving Russia out of eastern Ukraine and Crimea with Western help and getting Moscow to pay damages to Kyiv is an \u201cillusion\u201d, the RIA news agency reported.
\nTASS cited Lavrov as saying that Russia would continue to build up its fighting strength and technological capabilities in Ukraine. He said that Moscow\u2019s mobilised troops had undergone \u201cserious training\u201d and while many were now on the ground, the majority were not yet at the front.
\nZelenskiy told parliament to remain united and praised Ukrainians for helping the West \u201cfind itself again\u201d.
\n\u201cOur national colours are today an international symbol of courage and indomitability of the whole world,\u201d he said in an annual speech held behind closed doors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Wednesday, the shelling hit the maternity wing of a hospital, though no-one was hurt KYIV Ukraine\u2019s recently liberated southern city of Kherson suffered intense mortar and artillery attacks from Russian forces across the Dnipro river, while the Kremlin rejected a Ukrainian peace plan, demanding that Kyiv accept its annexation of four regions. Kherson has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":304369,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-304350","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n