DONETSK – A Ukrainian general said on Thursday that Moscow was digging in for a long war and still wanted to conquer the whole of Ukraine, as Russian forces pounded two strategic cities while Kyivs troops shelled Russian-controlled Donetsk in the east.

Both sides have ruled out a Christmas truce and there are currently no talks aimed at ending the nearly 10-month-old conflict, Europes largest since World War II.

Russian shelling killed two people in the centre of Kherson, the southern city liberated by Ukraine last month, said Mr Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidents office. The shelling also knocked out the citys electricity, officials said.

Russian forces also attacked critical infrastructure in the northeastern city of Kharkiv, causing several explosions, its mayor, Mr Ihor Terekhov, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The Kremlin… is seeking to turn the conflict into a prolonged armed confrontation, a senior Ukrainian officer, Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov, told a news briefing.

The main strategic objective of the enemy remains seizing all the territory of our country (and) not allowing Ukraines Euro-Atlantic integration, said General Gromov, who also dismissed the possibility of a truce over the festive period.

On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said a Christmas ceasefire was not on the agenda.

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-installed mayor of Donetsk, said Ukraine had fired 40 rockets from BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers at the city, in what he said was the heaviest attack there since 2014, when Russian-backed separatists wrested it from Kyivs control.

There were no reports of deaths in Donetsk, though Mr Kulemzin said five people had been hurt, including a child.

Reuters footage showed firefighters dousing smoking embers in a Donetsk apartment building struck by a missile and also a woman clearing shattered glass in a hospital ward also hit. More On This Topic No Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine, says Russia Ukraine shoots down drones as Russia attacks Kyiv Like zombies

Ukraines military General Staff said Moscows main focus remained on the eastern cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, but that it was also shelling Kherson daily and trying to get a stronger foothold in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia.

The Russians fired at different areas along the entire front line all night and in the morning, the Ukrainian governor of Donetsk region, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said on Telegram, adding there had been two air strikes on Avdiivka.

One person was killed and four injured near Bakhmut, he said.

(The Russians) are crawling like zombies on our positions in Bakhmut, creating pressure in the south of the Donetsk region, Mr Andriy Yermak, head of the presidential office, wrote on Telegram.

They understand that if they do not stretch the front now, then this winter will be a disaster for them.

In a move that would significantly bolster Kyivs air defence, US officials said a decision on providing the Patriot missile system to the Ukrainian military could be announced as soon as Thursday.

The Kremlin said the United States was getting deeper and deeper into the conflict in the post-Soviet republic, and that US Patriot systems would be legitimate targets, something that Russias foreign ministry said on Thursday applied to all weapons supplied to Ukraine by the West.

Asked about the possibility of Ukraine getting the US Patriot systems, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: It hasnt been confirmed yet but it will show quite how concerned people are by Russias deliberate targeting of civilian, critical national infrastructure. More On This Topic Nato chief says decision on supplying Patriot missiles to Ukraine lies with Germany US pushes allies to assemble patchwork air defences for Ukraine The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr Volker Turk said in a speech to the Rights Council following a visit to Ukraine that Russias strikes were exposing millions to extreme hardship.

On Wednesday, Kyiv suffered the first major drone attack in weeks. Two administrative buildings were hit, but air defences largely repelled the attack. Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said 13 drones had been shot down.

In one snowy Kyiv district, residents said they heard the loud whirring engine of an Iranian Shahed drone followed by a powerful explosion at a building next to their homes.

I want this all to be over … For (Russian President Vladimir) Putin, that bastard, to die, said Yana, 39, who had been getting ready for work when the attack took place. Rescuers and police officers examining the site of a building destroyed by a Russian drone attack in Kyiv on Dec 14. PHOTO: REUTERS Power shortages

Tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions more displaced and cities reduced to rubble since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb 24 in a special military operation, saying it needed to protect Russian speakers from Ukrainian nationalists. Kyiv and its allies call it an unprovoked war of aggression.

Russia has fired barrages of missiles on Ukraines energy infrastructure since October, disrupting power supplies and leaving people without heating in freezing winter conditions.

National grid operator Ukrenergo said on Thursday Ukraine continued to suffer a significant deficit of electricity due to the strikes, including new ones in the east, adding that the situation was exacerbated by the wintry weather conditions.

European Union member states failed to agree on a ninth package of Russia sanctions in talks late on Wednesday, diplomats said, after Poland called for a tougher stance.

Member states disagree over whether the EU should make it easier for Russian fertiliser exports to pass through European ports to help poorer countries even if the fertiliser companies concerned are owned by blacklisted oligarchs.

Further financial and military aid to Ukraine will feature prominently on the agenda of EU leaders meeting in Brussels for a summit later on Thursday. REUTERS More On This Topic Ukraine's allies pledge more than $1.4b in immediate winter aid Humble LED lightbulb enters Ukrainian resistance fight