Ukraine’s counteroffensive to retake Russian-occupied territories is making its way into Kherson province, one of four territories annexed last week by the Kremlin. This has been confirmed by some Russian bloggers, who have detailed that the Kremlin army has had to retreat about 40 kilometers in just one day and retreat to Dudchany, according to the Reuters agency. “[La situación] it is tense, let’s put it that way, because, in fact, there has been progress,” said the head of the administration imposed by Russia in the province, Vladimir Saldo, on Russian television.
This information contrasts with the caution demanded by the Government and the Ukrainian army, which do not reveal the possible military progress that may be taking place on the southern front of the country, especially in the province of Kherson. A spokesman for the military in that area goes further and directly asks to silence what may be happening on the ground, even if it is progress. “Do not report even positive news about the actions of our units. Awareness, resistance and strength are the secret of our constant movement towards victory”, claimed Vladislav Nazarov in a video posted on the social network Facebook dated Sunday.
“This week, most of the reports are the list of settlements liberated from the enemy as part of our defense operation,” Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in his speech that same night, without offering details on if those won enclaves are in the south of the country.
kyiv has only offered some details of what is happening on the ground, but always with caution in the face of those who have announced a collapse of enemy positions. In recent hours, the Ukrainian army has managed to shoot down a Russian KA-52 combat helicopter in the Berislav district, on the right bank of the Dnieper River, the spokesman said. Also, he affirms, they have killed 40 invading soldiers and destroyed two of their tanks and seven armored vehicles. Anton Gerashenko, an adviser to the Interior Ministry, shared on his Twitter profile on Sunday a video in which the Ukrainian flag is seen waving in the hands of a soldier with some neighbors in the town of Zolota Balka, but he himself acknowledges that the release of that place has not yet been officially confirmed. Zolota Balka is about 150 kilometers from Kherson, the capital city of the homonymous province.
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In any case, the situation around the Dnieper as it passes through there is tense and positions are changing, adds spokesman Nazarov. In the area controlled by Russian troops, he also denounces, the controls and the requirements that are demanded for citizens to leave, especially those who are of enlistment age, are becoming more and more intense. Moscow’s idea, once the annexation of four Ukrainian provinces has been announced, is for Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 35 to be called up to swell its troops and fight against their compatriots. The claim of the invading authorities that they wear the Russian uniform is the reason given by many of those who have managed to reach the city of Zaporizhia these days from the occupied areas, as EL PAÍS has verified.
In addition to the Kherson front in the south, there is a second front that is currently fighting in the Ukraine war. It is the open one in the east of the country. There, local troops have taken this weekend the strategic town of Liman, in the Donetsk region, with less resistance than, in principle, the 5,000 Russians who, according to kyiv, remained stationed there should have offered. Moscow said it ordered them to withdraw. The advances in Donetsk take place after the Ukrainian soldiers also won more than 8,000 square kilometers in the province of Kharkov throughout September without excessive fighting.
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