“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”, announced on Ukrainian television Serguiï Khlan, local deputy and adviser to the regional governor.
He assured that the Ukrainian forces had the “advantage” on the southern front following 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” assured him on Facebook to observe the retreat of a unit of pro-Russian separatist fighters from their positions in the region.
These claims were unverifiable from independent sources.
At the start of the invasion of Ukraine, Russian troops seized 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.
