Ukraine war: Russia accused of firebombing Kherson region after ceasefire expires

Kherson, Ukraine - The military governor of Kherson accused the Russian invaders of bombing the southern Ukrainian region and city with incendiary ammunition overnight.

The city of Kramatorsk was hit by Russian missile strikes overnight.
The city of Kramatorsk was hit by Russian missile strikes overnight.  © REUTERS

Yaroslav Yanushevych said on Telegram that there were no casualties from the bombardment, which occurred as a unilateral ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin expired at midnight. Kyiv never recognized the truce, calling it "hypocrisy" and "propaganda."

The Geneva Convention bans the use of incendiary munitions on civilian targets.

Russian forces fired on several locations, according to the Ukrainian authorities, including the city of Zaporizhzhia and villages in the Dnipropetrovsk region. One person died in Kharkiv during the nighttime attacks.

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Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka were hit by missiles in the eastern Donetsk region, with one person killed and a further eight injured, according to the deputy head of the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko.

On Sunday, authorities in Russian-controlled Luhansk in eastern Ukraine said a natural gas pipeline explosion in the region was the work of saboteurs.

The blowing up of the pipeline late on Saturday has cut supply to 13,315 customers in nine towns and villages, the civil authority said on Sunday. Temperatures in the region are currently below freezing.

UN: Biggest wave of refugees since World War II

Elsewhere, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Sunday that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has unleashed the largest wave of refugees since World War II.

"More than 7.9 million people have fled the country, and another 5.9 million are internally displaced," the UNHCR representative in Germany, Katharina Lumpp, said.

The total figure of almost 14 million represents more than a third of the country's total population of around 41 million.

Cover photo: REUTERS

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