Local officials said Monday that Ukrainian forces had initiated a counterattack in the south with the goal of driving Russian soldiers over the Dnieper River and retaking the Moscow-controlled city of Kherson.
Today, heavy artillery strikes were launched on Russian soldiers’ positions throughout the Kherson area.
According to local official and counsellor to the regional governor Sergey Khelan, it marks the beginning of the loss of control of the Kherson area.
He also emphasised that Ukrainian forces hold the upper hand on the southern front, citing recent strikes on bridges in the Kherson area aimed at hampering the Russian army’s logistical activities, according to AFP.
This comes after Ukrainian media described Natalia Gomenyuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Army’s Southern Command, as saying that Kyiv’s soldiers were striking in many ways on this front.
The Ukrainian military organisation Kakhovka said on Facebook that a unit of pro-Moscow separatist militants had left their posts in the area.
An independent source, however, was unable to validate this information.
It is worth noting that Russian soldiers have gained control of the city of Kherson (280,000 inhabitants) on the banks of the Dnieper River since the start of the military operation.
This region is vital to Russian agricultural and strategically important since it borders Crimea, which Moscow invaded in March 2014.
Ukraine conducts an offensive to retake control of Kherson.
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