Last updated: 42 minutes ago
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image source,Getty Images
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Ukrainian soldiers prepare artillery in the Kherson area on the southern front.
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The Ukrainian army claims to have breached the first line of defense in the Russian-occupied Kherson region.
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According to reports, the attack was a long-awaited counter-offensive in Kiev to recapture the country’s southern regions.
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This follows weeks of attacks by Ukraine aimed at disrupting major supply routes for Russian forces in the region. But the Russian military said the Ukrainian army suffered “significant losses” in a failed attack.
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Neither Ukraine’s nor Russia’s claims have been independently verified.
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Russian forces have occupied large areas of the Kherson region since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
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Earlier this week, Operation Kakhovka in southern Ukraine claimed that a regiment of Russian-backed forces had left positions in the Kherson region. The team added that the Russian paratroopers who provided backup had fled the battlefield.
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Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to the Ukrainian president’s office, said that the Ukrainian armed forces “break through the front in several places”.
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Meanwhile, witnesses said other explosions were heard in the cities of Kherson and Nova Kakhovka, about 55 kilometers (34 miles) northeast of the regional capital of Kherson. In recent weeks, the key crossing point between the two places across the Dnipro River has been targeted several times by the Ukrainian army.
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Russian state news agency Ria Novosti said the city of Novakakhovka lost electricity and water overnight.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky issued a stern warning to the Russian military in a late night televised speech: “If Russian soldiers want to survive, now is the time for them to flee. Go home!”
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Additionally, Zelensky and other senior officials were in awe of the details of the counterattack. They also urged Ukrainian citizens to be patient.
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In response to Ukrainian claims, the Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian forces had attempted to launch an offensive in Kherson and the nearby Nikolayev region. The Russian state news agency quoted the ministry as saying that the Ukrainian operation had failed and that the Ukrainian army had “suffered heavy losses”.
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Officials in Kiev said they used a US-supplied Himas missile system to destroy three bridges over the Dnieper River.
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According to Western military sources, Kiev’s counter-offensive action is to target Russian troops stationed on the right (west) bank of the Dnieper River, with the ultimate goal of recapturing the entire Kherson area. Moscow has always relied on these bridges to supply its troops.
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Analysis: why is Kherson important?
Putting aside the success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive so far, it is clear that Kherson has become a key battleground in the past few days and weeks.
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But why is Ukraine investing huge human and material resources to compete with Russia for control?
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One of the most obvious explanations is its geographical location. Kherson is located in southern Ukraine, on the Black Sea coast, at the mouth of the Dnipro River.
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Kherson is an important port city about 60 miles (about 100 kilometers) from Crimea, which has been annexed to Russia, and serves as a gateway for navigation, the navy and other important sea routes.
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Not far east of the city is the source of the Northern Crimean Canal, which supplies much of the Crimean peninsula’s fresh water supply.
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Indeed, the city of Kherson serves as a bridge between the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia since 2014, and the rest of Ukraine.
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Furthermore, Kherson remains the only major Ukrainian city so far captured and successfully captured by Russian forces during the war.
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image source,Getty Images
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The banner in the man’s hand reads: Kherson is Ukraine
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Analysis: What challenges could the Ukrainian army face in its counter-offensive?
BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner
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Taking Kherson back from the Russians will be a great challenge for Ukraine.
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The southern Ukrainian city of around 280,000 people was captured early in the war with little resistance from Russian troops. As a result, the Russian army had months to prepare for battle, bring in reinforcements and prepare for any counter-offensive.
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Since the invasion began in February, the Ukrainian side has fought an almost exclusively defensive battle, sustaining a fierce resistance to overwhelming Russian forces. The Ukrainian military has little experience in offensive operations, which usually require varying skills, force superiority, and a large amount of follow-up ammunition and troops.
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The Russians were able to take territory in places like Donbass and Mariupol because they would not hesitate to turn a rubble city with heavy artillery fire, with little regard for civilian casualties.
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Ukraine, however, will be limited in these respects and does not want to see its major port city burned to the ground.
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But, in Ukraine’s favor, the growing number of long-range weapons from the West could disrupt Russian supply lines. Furthermore, it is their land and their determination to reclaim it gives them more motivation than most of the Russian invaders.
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Zaporozhye nuclear power plant
image source,Reuters
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The Kiev counter-offensive targeted Russian troops stationed on the right (west) bank of the Dnieper River, with the ultimate goal of recapturing the entire Kherson region. Moscow has always relied on these bridges to supply its troops.
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The city of Kherson, which had a population of 290,000 before the war, was the only regional capital occupied by Russian troops and is currently run by local Moscow-backed officials.
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Officials from the Kherson region have already pushed forward plans to hold a referendum on formal membership of Russia, Russian news agency Tass reported. This prompted the United States to accuse Russia of a possible annexation of occupied southern Ukraine.
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Last month, Russia said its military target was no longer just in eastern Ukraine, but also in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of southern Ukraine.
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Another thing that came into focus on Monday (August 29): Russian officials in the Zaporozhye region claimed that a Ukrainian missile attack had pierced the roof of a fuel depot at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant.
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However, this claim has not been independently verified.
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Recently, Ukraine and Russia accused each other of bombing Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which was seized by Russia in early March. Moscow has Ukrainian personnel to manage the plant.
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Last week, Zelensky said the world was on the verge of a radioactive disaster from the plant.
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The head of an inspection team from the United Nations nuclear surveillance agency said they should have arrived at the plant by the end of the week to investigate.
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Analysis: The stalemate could be overcome
By Hugo Bachega, BBC correspondent in Kiev
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For some time, it was expected to see a major Ukrainian offensive to retake Kherson. Now, we can see that the action takes place, although any action is unlikely to be easy.
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Occupied since the beginning of the war, Kherson is one of the largest Ukrainian cities in Russian hands.
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For weeks, Ukrainian forces have repeatedly targeted Russian strongholds far from the front lines, deep in the occupied territories. And this is indeed possible thanks to the advanced weapons provided by the West.
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Furthermore, this had a destabilizing effect on the Russian invasion forces. Before, the war seemed to have reached a stalemate and neither Ukraine nor Russia had made significant military progress.
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It may be about to change.
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