Deaths due to shelling in southern and eastern Ukraine – the night update without photos Ceasefire has started +++ The first hostages are released at 3 p.m.

Several people have again been killed by Russian shelling in the south and east of Ukraine. The regional military administration reported three deaths and at least five injuries from the village of Chernobaivka in the Kherson region on Thursday alone. The attack was carried out with cluster bombs, head of government Olexander Prokudin told Telegram. Two children were also injured in another attack. The information could not initially be independently confirmed.

Authorities said two civilians were killed and another wounded by artillery fire in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk. Another injured person was reported from the neighboring Kharkov region. According to Ukrainian military information, more than 110 locations along the front line and the Russian border were shelled in one day.

At the front, attention remains focused on the battle for the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening video address. “I am grateful to everyone who is resilient and in our positions,” he added.

Finland closes three more border crossings with Russia

Finland has closed three more border crossings with Russia. Border guards said the border crossings in Salla, Kuusamo and Vartius were no longer active in the afternoon. Under the government’s decision, they will now remain closed until at least shortly before Christmas. The Finnish government had previously announced that from Friday only the Raja-Jooseppi border crossing in Lapland north of the Arctic Circle would be open to vehicles. The arrangement applies until December 23.

The Finnish Border Guard has recorded a sharp increase in recent weeks in the number of people, mainly from the Middle East, who entered Russia by bicycle without the necessary documents and applied for asylum in Finland. According to government figures, there have been about 700 since the beginning of August.

The blockade at Poland’s border crossings with Ukraine is expanding

In Poland, farmers have joined protests by transport companies and blocked a new border crossing with neighboring Ukraine. The farmers began blocking the Medyka border crossing for goods traffic, the PAP agency reported. They demand, among other things, government subsidies for the purchase of corn and the maintenance of liquidity loans. Polish transport companies are protesting against cheap competition from Ukraine, which they blame for their business slump.

What will be important on Friday?

On Friday, Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine will have lasted exactly 21 months. Fighting is currently particularly intense in the Donetsk and Kherson regions. (sda/dpa)