Kiev has launched a long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian-occupied territories in the south of the country, the Ukrainian army announced on Monday. “Today, we launched offensive operations in several directions, including in the Kherson regionUkrainian public broadcaster reported suspendedreferring to Natalya Humeniuk, the spokesperson of the military command of the Ukrainian army located in the south of the country. A few minutes later, during the briefing, the press spokesman repeated his statement.
“Ukraine is taking back what is its own and will eventually take back everything: the regions of Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, Kherson, Crimea, the waters of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov (…)”said President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily evening address. “The occupiers should know that we will push back our border, a line that remains unchanged. (for us)»he continued.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive is essentially aimed at recapturing Kherson, a pre-conflict city of 280,000 that fell to Russia at the start of the war, local officials said. “The armed forces of Ukraine launched an attack in several regions of the south. Residents of Kherson are asked to follow safety instructions: stay near shelters and stay away from Russian positions.the head of the regional administration, Yaroslav Yanuchevych, wrote in Telegram.
For two months, Ukraine has been talking about planning a counter-offensive in these southern regions, which have been occupied by the Russian army since the start of the February 24 invasion. Natalya Humenyuk also said that the latest Ukrainian attacks on the logistics axes connecting southern Ukraine to Russia.undoubtedly weakened the enemyadding that more than ten Russian ammunition depots had been hit in the past week. Several strikes in recent days have indeed destroyed several major railway and road bridges, particularly over the Dnieper River.
No details have been released about this new counterattack. “Any military action requires discretionthe spokesman said, declining to provide additional information about ongoing Ukrainian operations and adding that Russian forces in southern Ukraine “quite powerfuland had time to form their positions properly.
“Today, there were powerful artillery attacks on enemy positions throughout the occupied Kherson region (…). This is the announcement we have been waiting for since spring. this is the beginning of the end of the occupation of the Kherson region.Serguy Khlan, local deputy and adviser to the governor, announced on Ukrainian television. Military group of UkraineHanger“He was assured on Facebook to observe the withdrawal of a unit of pro-Russian separatist fighters from their positions in the region. These claims could not be independently verified.
Russia says it didto fail» attacks
For its part, the Russian army announced on Monday that it had pushed back “offensive attempts“Ukrainians in the regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv, in the south of Ukraine, simultaneously claim that they did the damage.”heavy lossesTo the forces of Kiev. “This new attempt at offensive action by the enemy failed miserablyit is said in the statement of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Crucial to Ukrainian agriculture, Kherson is also strategic as it borders the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Moscow in March 2014. For several weeks, Ukrainian forces said they were preparing a counteroffensive to recapture Kherson, but have not yet announced that the 2014 capture of dozens of villages.
US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, for his part, said that on September 8, he will again welcome his colleagues from allied countries to Germany to organize Western support for Ukraine’s military capabilities.
Source: Le Figaro
