Two sources from Ukraine have confirmed to Sky News that Ukrainian forces launched an offensive against Russian troops in Kherson, a crucial, Russia-occupied region of southern Ukraine.

There were growing suspicions that Ukrainian troops would launch an operation to capture Kherson, the first capital of the region that Russia took from Ukraine in the early stages of the invasion.

According to the first source, “The Ukrainian operation in Kherson began.”

According to the source, the Ukrainian armed forces were moving and forcing Russia “to retreat from their positions”.

Advertisement

Ukraine troops “break” first line of Russian defense in key region – latest updates

Another source claimed that the push is coming from multiple directions in the Kherson area.

“We began the offensive in several directions. The second source stated that although we can’t provide too much detail about the operation, it has started.

Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Southern Command, confirmed the offensive during a news briefing. She said that it included the Kherson area, according to Suspilne quotes.

She stated that Ukraine had attacked more than 10 ammunition dumps over the past week and had “unquestionably weakened” the enemy.

She refused to provide details, but stated that Russian forces remained “rather strong”.

“The counter-offensive has already been ongoing for a while” Ms Humeniuk stated to Suspilne. She added that the offensive phase had started on Monday.

Sergei Aksyonov (the governor of Ukraine’s Russian-annexed Crimea Peninsula), dismissed her announcement as “another fake piece of Ukrainian propaganda”.

A tweet from the Stratcom Centre of Ukraine stated that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had breached the first line of defense near Kherson.

“They believe Ukraine has a chance to regain its occupied territories. This is especially true considering the success of the Ukrainian army’s use Western weapons.”

According to the Ukrainian presidential office, heavy fighting was reported in the Kherson region by multiple Ukrainian strikers. The Russians occupy the majority of the area.

The Ukrainian strategy was to destroy four bridges that Russian forces must maintain in order to supply Kherson at the southern end the Dnipro River.

Continue reading:

Iodine tablets given to residents near the power plant in case of a radiation leak

Russia has made Europe ‘one step away from radiation disaster

This is a UN nuclear watchdog team – International Atomic Energy Agency, (IAEA) headed to Ukraine to inspect Europe’s largest nuclear plant. Although it was taken by Russian forces in the early stages of the invasion, the plant is still managed by Ukrainian workers.

Moscow and Kyiv both accuse each other of shelling near Zaporizhzhia’s power station, amid concerns about a possible radiation leakage.

The agency tweeted that IAEA experts were expected to arrive in the region later this week. It stated that they would assess staff conditions, examine physical damage and determine the functionality of safety- and security-systems systems.

It would also “perform immediate safeguards activities”, which refers to the tracking of nuclear material.

Russian officials claimed Monday that a Ukrainian missile strike had pierced the roof of the fuel depot at the plant.

According to Russian news agencies, Russia’s defense ministry claimed that its forces had taken down a Ukrainian drone trying to attack the power plant.

The report stated that there was no radiation exposure and that there were no significant damage.

Subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries via Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. Spotify, Spotify, Spreaker, and Spotify.

The UN, the US and Ukraine called for the removal of Russian military equipment from the compound to ensure it is not a target. However, the Kremlin insists that its troops will not be leaving.

The Kremlin stated that the IAEA mission was necessary and asked the international community for pressure on Ukraine to lower military tensions at the plant.