As the Ukrainian military exerted sustained pressure along the front lines in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces increased their mortar and artillery strikes on the Ukrainian city of Kherson on Wednesday, he said.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its morning report that Russia fired 33 missiles from multiple launchers at civilian targets in Kherson in 24 hours early Wednesday. Russia denies targeting civilians.
Intense fighting also continued in eastern Donetsk province around the now largely devastated Ukrainian-controlled city of Bakhmut, and to the north around the towns of Svatove and Kreminna in Luhansk province, where Ukrainian forces were trying to break through the Russian defensive line.
Air raid sirens also sounded across Ukraine on Wednesday morning, officials said. According to reports on Ukrainian social media, national alert may have been declared after parked Russian jets took off in neighboring Belarus. Reuters could not immediately confirm this information.
In its latest update on the military situation in Ukraine, the UK Ministry of Defense reported that Russia will reinforce the Kreminna section of the front line as it is logistically important to Moscow and has become relatively vulnerable following Ukraine’s recent advances to the west.
There was still no prospect of negotiation to end the war, now in its 11th month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy supports a 10-point peace plan that calls on Russia to fully respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and withdraw all its troops.
But the Kremlin rejected the plan on Wednesday, reiterating its position that Ukraine should accept the annexation of four Ukrainian regions – announced by Russia in September after “referendums” rejected by Kyiv and the West: Luhansk and Donetsk and Kherson in the east, and Zaporizhzhia in the south.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitriy Peskov said, “There can be no peace plan for Ukraine that does not take into account today’s realities regarding Russian territory, with the entry of four regions into Russia.” “Plans that do not take these facts into account cannot be peaceful,” he said.
Russian forces left the city of Kherson last month in one of Ukraine’s most important victories in the war. Located at the mouth of the mighty Dnipro River and serving as the gateway to Russia’s annexed Crimea, the Kherson region is strategically important.
The joy of the inhabitants of Kherson at the liberation of the city quickly gave way to fear amid the relentless Russian bombardment, and many have since fled.
Kyrylo Tymoshenko, Zelensky’s Deputy Chief of Staff, told Telegram that Russian forces bombed the maternity ward of a hospital in Kherson. He added that no one was injured and staff and patients were moved to a shelter.
Reuters was unable to immediately confirm the report.
Ukraine said at least 10 people were killed and 58 injured in a Russian attack in Kherson last Saturday.
source: Noticias
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.