The city of Kherson, strategically located in southern Ukraine at the mouth of the Dnieper River in the Black Sea, is the first major urban center to fall since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th.
Late Wednesday, Kherson Mayor Igor Kolikhayev said Russian troops had taken to the streets and stormed the city council building.
Taking control of the city is a significant victory for Russian President Vladimir Putin after a series of military setbacks. Home to about 300,000 people, Kherson is the largest city and the first regional capital to be in Russian hands.
“It’s a defeat [for the Ukrainian army]”Said Andrew Simmons of Al Jazeera, a reporter from Lviv, in western Ukraine, calling him a ‘big marker in this conflict.’
“Tanks are moving to and from the central zone, Russian troops are on foot patrols,” he added, describing Kherson as a city with “many resources and fighters.”
“It was a bloody battle to the end.”
Hannah Shelest, director of security programs at Ukraine’s Prism think tank, told Al Jazeera that Russian forces already have access to the Crimean continent, which Russia annexed in 2014.
“[It’s a significant advance] and because near Kherson you have access to fresh water that supplies Crimea, “Shelest said.
Ukraine had cut off fresh water supplies through a canal that provided 85 percent of the peninsula’s needs since annexation.
Some analysts believe that one of the goals of the Russian army in southeastern Ukraine is to create a “land corridor” connecting the two breakaway regions held by pro-Russian rebels with Crimea.
(Al Jazeera)
“For now, the Russians are trying to gain access from the Crimea to the coast… and attack in both directions – east in the direction of Lugansk and Mariupol, and west in the direction of Kherson, Nikolaev [Mykolaiv] and Odessa, “Shelest added.
The main port of Odessa, the third largest city in Ukraine, is located about 200 km (124 miles) west of Kherson. If Russian forces overtake Odessa, it will reduce Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea.
“This is the largest seaport; “70 percent of our exports go by sea,” Shelest said.
Battle of Mariupol
Separately, east of Kherson, the Mariupol City Council said Russian forces were constantly and deliberately shelling critical civilian infrastructure there.
“The invaders are systematically and methodically trying to block the city of Mariupol,” Mayor Vadim Boychenko said in a video broadcast Thursday.
Constant attacks over the past 24 hours have cut off water and electricity supplies, and local authorities need a ceasefire to restore power, he added.
Nearby, the smaller cities of Berdyansk and Melitopol were also captured and held by Russian forces.
Meanwhile, in the town of Enerhodar, along the Dnieper River southwest of Zaporozhye, residents blocked the road to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant on Wednesday, in clear opposition to Russian forces.
“The nuclear power plant is under secure protection, all people are under Ukrainian flags. No one will betray the city, our people are completely determined, “said a resident of Al Jazeera.
17:26 EET People block Enerhodar’s entrance to Russian troops, where the nuclear power plant remains guarded by the National Guard. In the neighboring village, Russian troops have already wounded two civilians https://t.co/66Kd1WeePc pic.twitter.com/z5x8Bz8AUk
– Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) March 2, 2022
During a televised security meeting on Tuesday, Belarusian President and Putin’s ally Alexander Lukashenko presented what appeared to be a “map of invasion”, according to Belarusian journalist Tadeusz Gichan.
The map shows that Ukraine is divided into four sectors with “military equipment destroyed by missiles from Belarus,” Gichan said.
Shelest said the map showed that their forces were even occupying Moldova.
At today’s meeting of the Security Council, Lukashenko showed what looks like a real map of invasion. It shows military sites of Ukraine destroyed by missiles from Belarus, directions of attacks (everything is in agreement except Odessa-Transnistria). Also, Ukraine is divided into 4 sectors. pic.twitter.com/ueqBIFUbyM
– Tadeusz Giczan @ (@TadeuszGiczan) March 1, 2022
The Moldovan Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that the map showed a potential strike on Moldova from Odessa and urgently called on Belarusian Ambassador Anatoly Kalinin.
On Thursday, several other cities, including the capital, Kyiv, northeastern Kharkiv and Mariupol in the southeast, continued to be attacked.
But in his latest video address, President Vladimir Zelensky said Ukraine’s defenses are being held back amid Russia’s multilateral attack.
The United Nations says at least one million people fled Ukraine in the week following Russia’s invasion.