In battle in the Kherson area, which is the centre of Kyiv’s counteroffensive in the south and a vital link in Moscow’s supply lines, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday that it had killed hundreds of Russian troops and destroyed two ammo depots.
According to the southern command of the military, rail transportation to Kherson across the Dnipro River has been shut off. This may possibly further isolate Russian soldiers located west of the river from supplies located in seized Crimea and the east.
In recent weeks, Ukraine has used long-range missile systems that were supplied by the West to cause severe damage to three bridges that span the Dnipro River. As a result, Kherson city has been cut off, and according to the assessment of British defence officials, Russia’s 49th Army that is stationed on the west bank of the river is now in a highly vulnerable position.
According to a statement released by Ukraine’s southern command, “it has been established that traffic over the rail bridge crossing the Dnipro is not possible as a result of fire establishing control over the main transport links in occupied territory.” This information was provided in response to the fact that “control was established over the main transport links in occupied territory.”
It was reported that more than one hundred Russian troops and seven tanks had been destroyed in action that took place on Friday in the Kherson area. Kherson was the first major town that the Russians secured after their invasion on February 24.
Yuri Sobolevsky, who is the first deputy leader of the Kherson regional council, issued a warning to the local population to avoid staying near any Russian ammo depots.
On the messaging app Telegram, he said that “the Ukrainian army is pouring it on on the Russians and this is merely the beginning.”
Berislav area was claimed to have been pounded especially heavily, according to Dmytro Butriy, the pro-Ukrainian governor of Kherson region. The town of Berislav may be found on the other bank of the river to the north of the Kakhovka hydroelectric facility.
He added on the Telegram app, “In some communities, not a single house has been left undamaged, all infrastructure has been destroyed, and people are living in basements.”
Reuters was unable to independently verify the accusations, and earlier this week, officials from the Russian-appointed administration overseeing the Kherson area denied assessments of the situation made by Western countries and Ukrainian authorities.
A missile attack or explosion that looked to have killed dozens or maybe hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war in the eastern part of the Donetsk region sparked allegations and counteraccusations between the two sides on Friday.
According to the Russian defence ministry, forty detainees were murdered and seventy-five others were injured at the jail in the frontline town of Olenivka that is controlled by Moscow-backed rebels. Journalists working for Reuters inside the jail were able to corroborate the deaths of several of the inmates.
The number of fatalities was stated at 53 by a spokeswoman for the separatists, and Kyiv was accused of hitting the jail with HIMARS missiles manufactured in the United States.
The military forces of Ukraine have denied any culpability for the attack, claiming that Russian artillery was used to strike the jail in order to cover up the maltreatment of inmates being imprisoned inside. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, said that Russia was responsible for a war crime and demanded that it be condemned internationally.
The conflicting accounts of the events were difficult for Reuters to verify straight away.
The ruins of a massive burned-out structure were seen on Reuters TV. The beds within the facility were made of metal, and some of them had burnt victims laying on them. Other dead were seen lined up on military stretchers or on the ground outside the building.
On a blue metal bench, there were pieces of shell that had been placed out. It was not feasible to discover any identifying signs right away, and it was unclear where the shards had been acquired from in the first place.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has said that it is attempting to get access to the location and has made an offer to assist with the evacuation of the injured.
Since Russia’s incursion, Ukraine has accused Russia of committing atrocities and acts of cruelty against civilians, and it has said that it has found over 10,000 suspected instances of war crimes. Russia denies attacking people.
During 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.-brokered deal to restart shipping grain from Ukraine and ease a worldwide food crisis on Friday. The call was the first time the two countries’ top diplomats had spoken since before Russia’s invasion of its neighbour began.
According to the Russian foreign ministry, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had a conversation with the United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken about how the United States was not following up to its pledges about the exemption of food from sanctions.
Lavrov was quoted as assuring Blinken that Russia will fulfil all of the aims of its “special military operation” in a transcript of the phone conversation provided by the Russian ministry of foreign affairs. Lavrov also said that Western armament supply to Ukraine would simply serve to prolong out the war.
During the conflict in Ukraine, Blinken expressed concern to Lavrov about potential territorial claims made by Russia.
