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Russian forces in the occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine are finding it increasingly difficult to maintain the flow of ammunition, armor and fuel to front-line units, according to Ukrainian officials and Western analysts, thanks to a concerted Ukrainian campaign to cut off river and rail supply lines as well as target ammunition depots.
The Russians are moving command posts from the north of the Dnipro River to the south bank as bridges have been heavily damaged, Ukrainian officials say.
The first deputy head of Kherson regional council, Yuri Sobolevsky, claimed on his Telegram channel that a significant portion of the Russian military command had already left Kherson city. Ukrainian forces are about 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) north of the city, towards Mykolaiv.
Much of Kherson region has been occupied since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. As part of Kyiv's counteroffensive to try to retake lost territory in the south, Ukrainian forces are targeting critical bridges to disrupt supply routes in and around Kherson.
The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, said Sunday that the Russians may be leaving for the other side of the river "to avoid being trapped in Kherson city if Ukrainian strikes cut off all ground lines of communication connecting the right bank of the Dnipro River to the Russian rear."
Videos have appeared on social media in the past few days showing renewed long-range artillery attacks on the Antonivskyi bridge and a road bridge over the dam near Nova Kakhovka, rendering them impassable for heavily armored vehicles. In some areas, the river is up to 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) wide, making pontoon bridges impractical.
The Ukrainians have also targeted several railway lines from the Russian-occupied Crimea Peninsula into the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. On Tuesday, a series of fierce explosions rocked the town of Dzankhoy on the main line towards Kherson. Recent video showed a substantial stock of military vehicles and ammunition at the site.
Two railway lines from Crimea were struck in the last 10 days. Last week, local residents reported several hours of explosions in the Henichesk district, a port area along the Sea of Azov, and the railway further west at Brylivka was also struck.
"Within the last week we have destroyed over 10 ammunition warehouses and military equipment clusters. These hits do not allow for the heavy equipment to be transferred by these bridges," said the Ukrainian military's Operational Command South.
None of this suggests an imminent Russian withdrawal from Kherson.
Olga Voitovych, Yulia Kesaieva and Mariya Knight contributed reporting.
Ukraine military reports attempts by Russia to advance on several towns in Donetsk as the conflict enters 173rd day.
A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022.
(Reuters)
Monday, August 15, 2022
Zelenskyy defends fighting as all eyes are on Zaporizhzhia plant
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has defended fighting against Russian and Moscow-backed forces, including those positioned at Europe’s largest nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia.
As Ukrainian forces reported heavy Russian shelling and attempts to advance on several towns in the eastern region of Donetsk, they said many of the attacks were repelled. The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces also reported Russian shelling of more than a dozen towns on the southern front – particularly in Kherson, mainly controlled by Russian forces.
Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine had many times proposed different formats to the Russian leadership for peace talks, without progress.
“So we have to defend ourselves, we have to answer every form of terror, every instance of shelling — the fierce shelling which does not let up for a single day,” he said in video remarks.
For live updates from Sunday (August 14), click here
Ukraine military reports attempts by Russia to advance on several towns in Donetsk as the conflict enters 173rd day.
A view shows the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict outside the Russian-controlled city of Enerhodar in the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine August 4, 2022.
(Reuters)
Monday, August 15, 2022
Zelenskyy defends fighting as all eyes are on Zaporizhzhia plant
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has defended fighting against Russian and Moscow-backed forces, including those positioned at Europe’s largest nuclear power station in Zaporizhzhia.
As Ukrainian forces reported heavy Russian shelling and attempts to advance on several towns in the eastern region of Donetsk, they said many of the attacks were repelled. The General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces also reported Russian shelling of more than a dozen towns on the southern front – particularly in Kherson, mainly controlled by Russian forces.
Zelenskyy noted that Ukraine had many times proposed different formats to the Russian leadership for peace talks, without progress.
“So we have to defend ourselves, we have to answer every form of terror, every instance of shelling — the fierce shelling which does not let up for a single day,” he said in video remarks.
For live updates from Sunday (August 14), click here
Kiev and Moscow accuse each other of shelling near Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine as fighting rolls into its 172nd day.
The mayor of Ukraine's Enerhodar, the city where the nuclear plant is located, reported mortar shelling on the plant "every day and night".
(Reuters Archive)
The risk of disaster at Europe's largest nuclear plant is "increasing every day", the mayor of the city where it is located has warned, after Ukraine and Russia exchanged blame for fresh shelling around the facility.
The Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern Ukraine has been occupied by Russian forces since March, and Kiev has accused Moscow of basing hundreds of soldiers and storing arms there. The facility has come under fire repeatedly in the past week, raising the spectre of a nuclear catastrophe.
"What is happening there is outright nuclear terrorism, and it can end unpredictably at any moment," said Dmytro Orlov, the mayor of Energodar city where the plant is based. "The risks are increasing every day," he added, noting that there was mortar shelling on the plant "every day and night".
Ship carrying grain for hungry Ethiopia leaves Ukraine
A United Nations-chartered ship loaded with 23,000 metric tons of Ukrainian grain destined for Ethiopia has set sail from a Black Sea port, the first shipment of its kind in a programme to assist countries facing famine.
The Liberia-flagged Brave Commander departed from the Ukrainian port of Yuzhne, east of Odessa, according to regional governor Maksym Marchenko. It plans to sail to Djibouti, where the grain will be unloaded and transferred to Ethiopia under the World Food Programme initiative.
Ukraine and Russia reached a deal with Türkiye on July 22 to re-start Black Sea grain deliveries, addressing the major export disruption that has occurred since Russia began its Ukraine operation in February.
First ship carrying Ukraine wheat under grain deal docks in Türkiye
The first ship carrying Ukrainian wheat to be exported under a Türkiye-brokered deal has arrived in Istanbul, the Joint Coordination Centre based in the Turkish city said.
The Belize-flagged vessel is the first to carry wheat from Ukraine through the Black Sea since Russia's offensive began. The Sormovsky was loaded with 3,050 mt of wheat and had left Ukraine's port of Chornomorsk on Friday.
A total of 18 ships have now departed from Ukraine over the past two weeks, following the deal with Russia to allow a resumption of grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, after they were stalled for five months due to the war.
Brave Commander, first UN-chartered Ukrainian grain ship, is being loaded at Yuzhny port in southern Ukraine to make her way to Ethiopia. Our correspondent Melinda Nucifora has more pic.twitter.com/z0BbbnNZD9
Russian forces have fired rockets on the Mykolaiv region in southern Ukraine, killing at least one person, according to Ukrainian officials.
The Mykolaiv region is just to the north of the Russian-occupied city of Kherson, which Ukrainian forces have vowed to retake. The Ukrainian emergency service said one person was killed in shelling early Sunday of the Mykolaiv region settlement of Bereznehuvate.
Russia’s war priority: Reorient units to strengthen southern Ukraine, UK says
Russia's priority over the past week has likely been to reorient units to strengthen its campaign southern Ukraine, British military intelligence said.
Russian-backed forces of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic in the Donbas continued to attempt assaults to the north of Donetsk city, according to the intelligence update.
Particularly heavy fighting has focused on the village of Pisky, near the site of Donetsk Airport, the British Defence Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin on Twitter.
Zelenskyy says 'brutal fighting is continuing in Donbass'
Russia has deployed a colossal amount of its military resources in eastern Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, adding, "brutal fighting is continuing in Donbass."
"The hottest points of the front in this direction remain unchanged: Avdiivka, Marinka, Pisky, Bakhmut and the corresponding direction," he said, adding, "All our male and female defenders there are simply heroes."
In Kharkiv region, he claimed the Ukrainian defence is strong "and the attempts of the occupiers to attack are constantly failing."
Zelenskyy claimed fighting in the south of the country is causing destruction of Russian army forces and their means. "No day is wasted, we are reducing the occupiers' potential."
For live updates from Saturday (August 13), click here
Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of shelling Europe's biggest nuclear power plant as fighting enters its 170th day and UN chief proposes a demilitarised zone at the site.
Zaporizhzhia plant, near the front line of the fighting, is held by Russian troops and operated by Ukrainian workers.
(Reuters Archive)
Friday, August 12, 2022
IAEA head seeks to visit Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said he is seeking to visit Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant amid fresh shelling of its compound.
Rafael Grossi told the UN Security Council that there was no immediate threat to the safety of the nuclear site based on a preliminary assessment but warned that this could change at any moment.
Europe's largest nuclear site has been shelled several times, raising concerns about a nuclear disaster.
Grossi said he was ready to lead a team of experts to assess the physical damage to the facility. ''The IAEA must be allowed to conduct its mission as soon as possible."
Ukraine seeks control of nuclear plant
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has demanded Russia return Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to Ukraine's control.
"Only a full withdrawal of the Russians ... and the restoration of full Ukrainian control of the situation around the station can guarantee a resumption of nuclear security for all of Europe," he said in a video address.
France echoed Zelenskiyy's demand and said Russia's occupation of the site endangered the world.
"The presence and actions of the Russian armed forces near the plant significantly increase the risk of an accident with potentially devastating consequences," the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
For live updates from Thursday (August 11), click here
Amid escalating attacks around Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine, evacuees find themselves at a refugee reception center looking to escape the violence.
