This is reported by several international media, including the news agency AFP. The offensive is particularly aimed at the city of Kherson, the only regional capital Russian forces have succeeded in capturing in Ukraine. The city was the first to be taken by Russian forces after the invasion in February. – Ukrainian forces have begun the offensive in the south. The goal is to liberate occupied areas, Natalia Humenyuk, spokeswoman for Ukraine’s Southern Command, told CNN on Monday morning. Announced in July The reports of an offensive have so far not been independently verified. It has been reported for several weeks that Ukrainian forces have prepared a counter-offensive in the south. There have been reports of, among other things, systematic attacks against bridges and ammunition depots. COUNTER-OFFENSIVE: Ukrainian forces launched a major counter-offensive against Russian forces in the south of the country on Monday. Serheij Khlan sits on the regional council in Kherson. He tells Ukrainian Pryamyi TV that this is the beginning of an operation aimed at recapturing occupied areas, according to AFP. – Today there was a powerful artillery attack on enemy positions throughout the occupied Kherson region, he says. – This is an announcement we have been waiting for since spring. It is the beginning of the counter-offensive of the Kherson region, says Khlan. Expectations of a Ukrainian offensive have grown slowly but surely since the start of July. Then Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov stated that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had ordered the liberation of the occupied territories in the south. SOUTH OF THE COUNTRY: Before the war, approximately 300,000 people lived in Kherson. This photo is from 20 May this year. Kherson is located just north of the Crimean peninsula, in the south of the country. Photo: OLGA MALTSEVA / AFP – Conflicting messages coming in Lieutenant-Colonel Palle Ydstebø is head of the section for land forces at the Norwegian Military Academy. He says it is very difficult to know what direction this will take. – This can stop tonight or end up lasting a long time, says Ydstebø to news. When asked about what will happen in Ukraine during the day, lieutenant colonel Palle Ydstebø answers with great reservations. – It is hard to say. Conflicting messages come in and it is not good to establish what is true and what is not. MAJOR RESERVATIONS: Lieutenant-Colonel Palle Ydstebø has major reservations about what will happen in Ukraine during the day. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB What Ydstebø can say with certainty is that there is a lot of activity along the front in southern Ukraine. It is also reported from both sides. – And it is Ukraine that has started the activity. And it has been long overdue, says the lieutenant colonel. At the same time, there is one thing he does not doubt: – No matter what kind of offensive Ukraine runs, they will do it in a way where they avoid major losses themselves. I think you will see several smaller attacks, rather than a major offensive at first. Fighting in several places On Monday evening, there will also be reports from the strategically important city of Mykolayiv about several incidents. The city is under Ukrainian control. Several bridges along the Dnieper River in the south of Ukraine are said to have been hit by missiles. At least two people have lost their lives and 11 people have been injured after the city is said to have been hit by Russian missiles, according to Sky News. The mayor of the city, Oleksandr Senkevych, himself reports the attacks on Telegram. There he encourages residents of the city to seek refuge. According to the Russian news agency Tass, the statements by the Ukrainian authorities that they have launched an offensive are untruths. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the military-civilian administration in Kherson, says the following to Tass: – More and more residents of Kherson want to become part of Russia and to be a Russian region. Kherson is located just north of the Crimean peninsula, in the south of the country and on the river Dnieper, which divides the country in two. The city is therefore considered strategically important. Before the war, approximately 300,000 inhabitants lived in the city. Now it is no longer allowed to use Ukrainian currency – it is Russian rubles that apply, writes Aftenposten.
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Ukraine has launched an offensive in the Kherson area – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
