Ukraine has said it has launched the announced counter-offensive in the southern region of Kherson. The main objective of the Ukrainian armed forces is to recapture the city of Nova Kachovka, on the south bank of the Dnipro River.
According to local authorities in the Russian-occupied territory, shelling by Ukrainian units on Monday night hit hundreds of homes, a hospital and a nitric acid storage depot, leaving at least seven dead and dozens injured. The Ukrainians allegedly fired on civilian targets in Nova Kakhovka using HIMARS missile systems.
Ukrainian armed forces reported shelling at a weapons depot in the city, located nearly 60 kilometers east of the provincial capital, Kherson. Kyiv has announced it will retake the occupied territories and has called on the population at the front to leave. The reports of the warring parties cannot be verified.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk had already called on civilians in Kherson last weekend to evacuate as soon as possible to make room for the counteroffensive.
Kherson is located in the south of the Ukrainian mainland. Shortly after the start of the invasion, the Russians made considerable progress in the region and were one of the first to take the city of the same name. They hoped to push through to the important port city of Mykolaiv, but they did not succeed.
Russia and its pro-Russian Ukrainian allies are trying to “Russify” the region, including with a new pro-Russian leadership, the Russian currency, Russian media and the provision of Russian passports.