Zelensky does not intend to yield anything to the Russians. Ukrainian forces have launched a counter-offensive in the south, aimed at pushing enemy troops back across the Dnieper River to retake the occupied city of Kherson, local authorities said on Monday.
“Today there were powerful artillery attacks on enemy positions (…) throughout the territory of the occupied Kherson region. This is the announcement of what we have been waiting for since the spring: it is the beginning of the end of the occupation of the Kherson region”, declared on Ukrainian television Serguiï Khlan, local deputy and adviser to the regional governor. .
Hindering the logistics of the Russian army
According to him, the Ukrainian forces have “the advantage” on the southern front after several strikes in recent weeks having targeted bridges in the Kherson region and intended to hinder the logistics of the Russian army.
Ukrainian media had earlier quoted the spokeswoman for the Ukrainian army’s “Southern” command, Natalia Goumenyuk, as saying that kyiv forces were attacking “from many directions” on this front.
The Ukrainian military group “Kakhovka” observed the retreat of a unit of pro-Russian separatist fighters from their positions in the region, he said on Facebook. These claims were unverifiable from an independent source.
A few hours later, the Russian army claimed to have repelled the counter-offensive and inflicted “heavy losses” on the forces in kyiv. “This new attempt at offensive operations by the enemy has failed miserably,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
From the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops had captured Kherson, a city of 280,000 inhabitants located on the Dnieper River. Essential for Ukrainian agriculture, this region is also strategic because it borders the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in March 2014.
For several weeks, the Ukrainian forces said they were preparing a counter-offensive to retake Kherson, but had so far only reported the conquest of several dozen villages.