A member of the Ukrainian Volunteer Corps fires a howitzer at a position in the Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia, on March 28. (Photo: Stanislav Yurchenko/Archyde.com)
Russia’s most significant achievement in southern Ukraine has been the capture of Kherson in the first week of March, seen as the first major step towards a possible offensive against Odessa, the country’s third largest city.
However, in recent days, CNN has reported Russia’s difficulties in maintaining its front line northwest of the city, as well as Ukrainian successes in attacking Russian helicopters at the nearby Kherson airport.
Now, Ukrainian officials report possible significant gains elsewhere in the south, pushing Russian forces back as much as 50 kilometers in fighting near the town of Kryvyi Rih.
“The enemy is no longer stopping in all directions, but has retreated at the far reaches of the city,” Oleksandr Vilkul, the top official in Kryvyi Rih, said late on Monday.
“Several more settlements in the Kherson region have been liberated today. The invaders are at a distance from Kryvyi Rih of at least 40 kilometers, in some directions up to 60 kilometers.”
Earlier, Ukrainian officials said Russian troops were less than 10 kilometers from the city, which has a population of more than 500,000 and lies between Kherson and Dnipro.
“The contact line is no longer on the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region, and it is already in the Kherson region. Our military shows real bravery and inflicts heavy damage on the enemy,” Vikul said.
Most of the residents have remained in Kryvyi Rih since the start of the war, Vikul added. “You can see for yourself that the city lives and works,” he said in a video statement posted on Facebook.
In a reminder of the continuing threat posed by Russian strikes, regardless of any change in control of the territory, the head of the nearby city of Nikopol reported a missile attack near his city. No casualties were reported, Eugen Evtushenko said on Facebook.