More than 100 residents of the Russian border city of Belgorod have evacuated to an area further from the Ukrainian border, local officials said. Ukrainian attacks on Dec. 30 in Belgorod killed 25 people, officials there said, with rocket and drone attacks continuing throughout this week. The southern city of Kherson was subject Sunday to numerous shelling attacks from Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson region, across the Dnieper River, local officials said with two people dying in the attacks and several others wounded.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was joined by families of military personnel who have died in the war in Ukraine at Christmas Eve services at his Novo-Ogaryovo residence, in the western suburbs of Moscow."Many of our men, our courageous, heroic guys, are warriors of Russia even now, during the holiday — with arms in hand they defend the interests of our country," he said to the attending families, according to the Kremlin's press service. In Ukraine, air defense shot down 21 of 28 drones launched by Russia overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force said Sunday while Russia also launched three antiaircraft missiles against Ukraine.