Russian forces yesterday stepped up mortar and artillery attacks on the recently liberated city of Kherson, Ukraine’s military said, while also exerting constant pressure along front lines in eastern regions of the country.
Russia fired 33 missiles from multiple rocket launchers at civilian targets in Kherson in the 24 hours to early yesterday, the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said in its morning report.
Russia denies targeting civilians.
Photo: AFP
Heavy fighting also persisted around the Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut, now largely in ruins, in the eastern province of Donetsk, and to its north, around the cities of Svatove and Kreminna in Luhansk Province, where Ukrainian forces are trying to break Russian defensive lines.
Air-raid sirens also sounded across Ukraine in the morning, officials said.
Ukrainian social media reports said the nationwide alert might have been declared after Russian jets stationed in Belarus took off.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify that information.
The British Ministry of Defence said in its latest update on the military situation in Ukraine that Russia had likely reinforced the Kreminna section of the front line, as it is logistically important to Moscow and has become relatively vulnerable following recent Ukrainian advances further west.
There is still no prospect of talks to end the war, now in its 11th month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is vigorously pushing a 10-point peace plan that envisages Russia fully respecting Ukraine’s territorial integrity and pulling out all its troops, something Moscow refuses to contemplate.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday said that he was open to negotiations, but only on his terms, which include Ukraine accepting the loss of four regions — Luhansk and Donetsk in the east, and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south. Together, they comprise about one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory.
“There has been very little change in terms of the front line, but pressure from the enemy has intensified, both in terms of the numbers of men and the type and quantity of equipment,” Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said.
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