Following Russia’s announcement that it intends to focus on “liberating the Donbass” in the Ukraine war in the future, the Kiev government fears that the situation in Mariupol and the east of the country will deteriorate. “This means a potential or strong deterioration around Mariupol,” Ukraine’s presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said in a video message posted to the president’s Telegram account.
Ukrainians can now hope that the “enemy” can be “driven out” from the Kiev, Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, Arestovych said, referring to the northern and eastern regions. Ukrainian troops launched small tactical counterattacks against Russian troops.
The pressure on Mykolaiv has eased a little
Today, among other things, the battle line appeared to be pulling away from the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, and the bombardment of the city, which had been under siege by the Russian army for weeks, appeared to be waning. Ukrainian soldiers launched a counteroffensive near Cherson, about 80 kilometers to the southeast.
Protests against squatters in Kherson
According to eyewitness accounts, around 500 people protested against Russian occupation forces in Cherson itself, the only major Ukrainian city so far captured by Russian troops. The peaceful demonstration was stopped with tear gas and smoke grenades, a paramedic told the AFP news agency by telephone.
According to Ukrainian sources, two people were killed by Russian bombing in a village near Cherson. Also, on the outskirts of Kharkov, the Drobyzky Yar Holocaust memorial was damaged, which commemorates the 15,000 Jews killed there by the Nazis. Also in Irpin and around Kiev there were again Russian attacks. In return, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry reported the recapture of a village near the Russian border.