Ukraine Claims That Many Russians Were Killed In The Fighting In Kherson

The Kherson region, the focal point of Kyiv’s counteroffensive in the south and a crucial link in Moscow’s supply lines, saw heavy battle on Saturday, according to the Ukrainian military, which claimed to have killed dozens of Russian soldiers and destroyed two ammo dumps.

The military’s southern command reported that rail service to Kherson over the Dnipro River had been halted, potentially further cutting off Russian forces west of the river from supplies in the annexed Crimea and the east.

In recent weeks, Ukraine has severely damaged three Dnipro bridges with long-range missile systems supplied by the West, cutting off Kherson and, in the opinion of British defence officials, leaving Russia’s 49th Army stationed on the river’s west bank extremely exposed.

According to a statement from Ukraine’s southern command, travel over the rail bridge crossing the Dnipro is not possible because of fire taking control of the main transportation routes in the occupied zone.

In combat on Friday in the Kherson region, the first significant town the Russians had taken control of since their invasion on February 24, it was reported that more than 100 Russian soldiers and seven tanks had been destroyed.

Residents were warned to avoid Russian ammo dumps by Yuri Sobolevsky, the first deputy head of the Kherson regional council.

He posted on Telegram that “the Ukrainian army is pouring it on on the Russians and this is merely the beginning.”

Dmytro Butriy, the pro-Ukrainian governor of the Kherson area, claimed Berislav district had been particularly heavily struck. Northwest of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant is the town of Berislav.

He posted on the Telegram app that “in some communities, not a single home has been left undamaged, every infrastructure has been destroyed, and people are living in cellars.”

Officials from the Russian-appointed administration in charge of the Kherson region earlier this week dismissed Western and Ukrainian assessments of the situation, and Reuters was unable to independently verify the reports.

explosive prisoner

A missile attack or explosion that appears to have killed scores of Ukrainian POWs in the eastern Donetsk province sparked further claims from both sides on Friday.

The prison run by separatists backed by Moscow saw 40 convicts slain and 75 injured, according to the Russian defence ministry. Journalists from Reuters were at the prison when some of the deaths were confirmed.

53 people were killed, according to a separatist speaker, who also charged that Kyiv had used HIMARS missiles developed in the US to attack the prison.

The Russian artillery had targeted the prison to conceal the maltreatment of people being imprisoned inside, according to the Ukrainian armed forces, who denied any wrongdoing. Dmytro Kuleba, Russia’s foreign minister, declared that Russia had committed a war crime and urged international condemnation.

The various accounts of what happened could not immediately be confirmed by Reuters.

Reuters TV showed the charred remains of a body laying on a metal bed in the middle of a burned-out structure filled with metal beds. Other dead were lined up on military stretchers or on the ground outside.

Shell pieces were spread out on a bench made of blue metal. No distinguishing signs could be seen at away, and it was unclear where the bits had been gathered.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stated that it has offered to assist with the evacuation of the injured and is requesting access to the area.

Since its invasion, Ukraine has accused Russia of crimes against humanity and brutality toward civilians, and it claims to have found more than 10,000 potential war crimes. Russian officials deny targeting civilians.

cuisine diplomacy

In their first phone call since before Russia’s invasion of its neighbour began on February 24, the top diplomats of the United States and Russia discussed a U.N.-mediated agreement to resume grain shipments from Ukraine and ease a global food crisis on Friday.

According to the foreign ministry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Washington was not upholding its commitment to exempting food from sanctions.

According to a Russian foreign ministry account of the conversation, Lavrov assured Blinken that Russia would succeed in all of the objectives of its “special military operation” and said that providing Ukraine with Western weapons would simply prolong the fight.

Regarding any territorial claims made by Russia during its conflict in Ukraine, Blinken forewarned Lavrov.

“Annexations won’t be recognised by the world. If Russia goes ahead with its plans, we will impose further, severe consequences on it “said he.