Russia’s occupation administration, which controls the Kherson region in southern Ukraine, announced on Monday that it was suspending preparations for a referendum on annexing the territory, which is currently the target of a major Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“We had prepared for the vote, we wanted to organize the referendum very soon, but due to the current events, I think we will take a break for now.Kirill Stremusov, the number one head of the Russian occupation administration in Kherson, announced on the antenna of the Russian “Russia-1” public television. “This is explained in a practical way, we are talking about not going fast, doing the main tasks – feeding the population, ensuring the security of the occupation.“, he added.
For weeks, the Russian occupation of Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhia regions said it was preparing referendums this fall to annex those regions to Russia, a scenario that was already realized in 2014 when Ukraine was annexed. But Kherson and its region are being targeted in a counteroffensive by Ukraine, which claims it has retaken the area, inflicting losses on the Russians and disrupting Russian supply lines, rendering key bridges in the area unusable.
Between Sunday and Monday night, the Ukrainians claimed to have destroyed another ammunition depot as well as a pontoon bridge and captured the sites. “The enemy’s ammunition depot was destroyed near Tomina Balka“The settlement west of the city of Kherson, as well as the pontoon bridge near the village of Lvove and the command center of the Russian army southeast of Kherson,” the Southern Command of the Ukrainian Army assured on Facebook between Sunday and Monday night.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he is resuming “two settlements in the southand the third in the East, without mentioning their names, in his daily address on Sunday evening. According to the Southern Command of Ukraine, the forces of Kiev are primarily seeking to disrupt “troop management system and logistics systemwith airstrikes and artillery of the Russian army.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation claims in its daily statement that it has caused great losses to the Ukrainians.who try to put down roots in certain areasfrom occupied southern Ukraine. On February 24, Russian forces attacked the territory of Ukraine from the east, north and south. Failing to capture Kiev, they eventually withdrew from northern Ukraine, focusing on the east and south. Armed with Western military supplies, the Ukrainian army has managed to halt the Russian advance in recent weeks.
Source: Le Figaro
