Ukraine’s counteroffensive to retake Russian-held territories is making its way into Kherson province, one of four territories annexed by the Kremlin last week. This was confirmed by some Russian bloggers, who detailed that, according to the Portal agency, the Kremlin army had to retreat about 40 kilometers in Kherson and to Dudkhany in just one day. “[La situación] it’s tense, let’s say, because there has actually been progress,” the head of the Russian-imposed administration in Kherson province, Vladimir Saldo, told Russian television.
This information contrasts with the caution requested by the government and army of Ukraine, which does not disclose the possible military advances on the country’s southern front, particularly in the Kherson region. A military spokesman in the area goes even further, directly asking that what is happening on the ground be silenced, even if progress is made. “Do not even report positive news about the actions of our units. Awareness, resistance and strength are the secret of our constant movement towards victory,” Vladislav Nazarov claimed in a video posted on October 2 on the social network Facebook.
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“This week, most of the reports are about the list of settlements liberated from the enemy as part of our defense operation,” said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his speech on Sunday evening, without specifying whether they were captured Enclaves in the south are the country.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in his office. Photo: EUROPA-PRESSE | Video: Portal
Kyiv has provided only a few details of what is happening on the ground, but always with caution towards those who have announced the collapse of enemy positions. In the last few hours, the Kiev army managed to shoot down a Russian KA-52 attack helicopter in the Berislav district on the right bank of the Dnieper, the spokesman said. In addition, he asserts, they killed 40 invading soldiers and destroyed two of their tanks and seven armored vehicles. Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to the Interior Ministry, announced this on his Twitter profile on Sunday a video showing the Ukrainian flag waving in the hands of a soldier with some neighbors in the town of Zolota Balka, but he himself admits that the declassification of this place has not yet been officially confirmed. Zolota Balka is located about 150 kilometers from Kherson, the capital of the region of the same name.
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In any case, the situation around the Dnieper was tense during its crossing and the positions would change, adds spokesman Nazarov. Even in the area controlled by Russian troops, he denounces, the controls and the requirements for the departure of citizens, especially those of draft age, are becoming more and more intensive. Moscow’s idea is that after the announcement of the annexation of four regions of Ukraine, including Kherson, Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 35 would be called up to join their troops and fight against their compatriots. The invasion authorities’ claim that they are wearing the Russian uniform is the reason put forward by many of those who have managed to reach the city of Zaporizhia from the occupied territories these days, as confirmed by EL PAÍS.
In addition to the Kherson front to the south, there is a second front currently fighting in the Ukraine war. It is the most open in the east of the country. There, local troops this weekend took the strategic city of Liman in the Donetsk region with less resistance than the 5,000 Russians that Kyiv says remained stationed there should have put up. Moscow said it ordered them to withdraw. The advances in Donetsk come after Ukrainian soldiers won more than 8,000 square kilometers in the Kharkov region in September, even without excessive fighting.
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