Ukrainian Military Launches Southern Offensive In Bid To Retake Kherson Region
According to RFE/RL, Ukraine's armed forces have started offensive action on several fronts in the south of the country, the military announced, launching a much-anticipated counteroffensive to regain the Kherson region from Russian invading forces.
"Today we started offensive actions in various directions, including in the Kherson region," Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne on August 29 cited southern command spokeswoman Natalya Humenyuk as saying. She confirmed the news minutes later at a briefing.
Moscow’s Defense Ministry acknowledged that a Ukrainian offensive had been launched, but it insisted it had failed, with its forces inflicting heavy Ukrainian casualties.
"Enemy's offensive attempt failed miserably," it said.
The claims could not be independently verified.
Russia captured swathes of southern Ukraine in the first phase of its February 24 invasion. Ukraine has been pledging for weeks to launch a major counteroffensive to retake land and has used Western-made long-range weapons to hit Russian supply lines.
Humenyuk said Ukraine's recent strikes on Russia's southern logistical routes had "unquestionably weakened the enemy," adding that more than 10 Russian ammunition dumps had been hit over the past week.
However, she declined to disclose more details about the new offensive.
"Any military operation needs silence," she said, adding that Russia's forces in the south are "rather powerful" and have been built up over a long time.
Ukrainska Pravda and Suspilne quoted Ukrainian official Volodymyr Litvinov as saying Ukrainian forces hit the Beryslav Machine-Building Plant in the Kherson region, where Russian troops had concentrated equipment and manpower.
Litvinov did not provide details but said a fire had broken out at the site. The report could not immediately be verified.
Russian-installed officials in the region on August 29 announced the evacuation of residents of nearby Nova Kakhovka, a city frequently targeted by Kyiv's forces, to bomb shelters from their workplaces. The officials citied Ukrainian rocket strikes on the city.
