Ukraine bombs Russian forces to retake south

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Ukraine intensified its efforts to retake southern Ukraine from Russian control by trying to bombard and isolate Russian troops in hard-to-resupply areas.

In a speech on Thursday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy again signaled that Ukrainians would not be intimidated by the Russian invasion, which began on February 24 and had economic and other consequences far beyond the borders of Ukraine. ‘Ukraine.

« We will do everything so that no one in the world remains indifferent to this terrible war that Russia has unleashed against our country and against the very notion of freedom, » Zelenskiy said.

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Russia and Ukraine struck a deal last week to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports, but UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said « crucial » details for safe passage of ships were still being worked out. Griffiths hoped the first shipment of grain from a Ukrainian Black Sea port could take place as early as Friday.

Allowing the safe passage of grain shipments from Ukrainian ports should ease the shortages that have left tens of millions of people around the world facing soaring food prices and hunger.

AIR STRIKES

Ukraine said on Thursday its planes hit five Russian strongholds around the southern city of Kherson and another nearby town.

The Kherson region, which borders Russia’s annexed Crimea, fell to Russian forces shortly after launching what Moscow calls « a special military operation ». Ukraine describes Russia’s actions as an imperial-style war of conquest.

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British military intelligence, which helps Ukraine, said it was likely Ukrainian forces had also established a bridgehead south of a river that runs along the region’s northern border.

Ukraine says it has recaptured some small settlements on the region’s northern edge in recent weeks as it tries to push back Russian forces, a potential prelude to what Kyiv has touted as a major counteroffensive to retake the south.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its planes attacked a Ukrainian infantry brigade in the far north of the Kherson region and killed more than 130 of its soldiers in the past 24 hours.

Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian-appointed civil-military administration that runs the Kherson region, also dismissed Western and Ukrainian assessments of the battlefield situation.

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Reuters could not verify reports from the battlefield.

MISSILES

Ukraine has used long-range missile systems supplied by the West to severely damage three bridges over the Dnipro River in recent weeks, making it harder for Russia to supply its forces on the western bank.

British intelligence said the strategy was beginning to isolate Russian forces in the Kherson region.

« The Russian 49th Army, stationed on the west bank of the Dnipro River, now looks very vulnerable, » he said in an intelligence bulletin.

The city of Kherson was now virtually cut off from other Russian-occupied territories.

« His loss would seriously undermine Russia’s attempts to portray the occupation as a success, » British intelligence said.

RIA reported on Thursday that Russian security services discovered a group of Ukrainian operatives in Kherson who had been paid to pass the map coordinates of Russian forces to Ukraine for targeting with artillery.

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Two people in the southern seaside town of Koblevo were thrown by a sea mine as they swam despite a ban, Mykolaiv regional governor Vitaliy Kim said on Telegram.

Russia continues to carry out strikes against targets across Ukraine while trying to take control of the entire industrialized Donbass region, including the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russian forces shelled the town of Bakhmut four times, which was cited by Russia as a priority target in its advance through Donetsk, Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram. At least three people were killed and three were injured, he said.

(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Grant McCool; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)