Ukraine steps up campaign to retake Russian-controlled regions in south; residents in eastern Donbas urged to evacuate
Ukraine has stepped up its campaign to retake Russian-controlled regions in the south by trying to bomb and isolate Russian troops in hard-to-resupply areas. Ukrainian planes struck five Russian strongholds around Kherson and another nearby city on Thursday, its military claimed. Kyiv said it had also retaken some small settlements on the Kherson region’s northern edge.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive in the country’s south is “gathering momentum”, according to British defence and intelligence officials. Ukraine has virtually cut off the Russian-occupied southern city of Kherson, leaving thousands of Russian troops stationed near the Dnieper River “highly vulnerable” and isolated, the UK ministry of defence said.
Residents of Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region have been urged to evacuate. Ukraine’s deputy prime minister, Iryna Vereshchuk, said people risked being cut off from “power, water, food and medical supplies, heating and communication” if they stayed in the area.
Five people were killed and at least 25 injured when Russian missiles struck the hangars of an aviation enterprise in Kropyvnytskyi, north of Mykolaiv, on Thursday.
At least two people were killed in the Donetsk town of Toretsk on Thursday, when a five-storey building collapsed after a Russian missile strike.
Two people in the southern seaside town of Koblevo were blown up by a sea mine while swimming despite a ban, said the Mykolaiv regional governor, Vitaliy Kim.
US lawmakers were briefed by US officials who said more than 75,000 Russians were estimated to have been killed or injured in the war. The number was “enormous”, Elissa Slotkin, a Democratic House representative who previously attended a secret US government briefing, told CNN. However, there was no current information from official authorities in Russia on the number of deaths.
The UN aid chief said he was hopeful the first shipment of grain from a Ukrainian Black Sea port could take place as early as Friday. Martin Griffiths said “crucial” details for the safe passage of vessels were still being worked out and “the devil was in the details”.
Talks between the Kremlin and Washington about a possible prisoner swap were said to not have come to a concrete agreement “yet” on Thursday. The deal reportedly involves trading a notorious Russian arms dealer for a US basketball star and a former marine.
Estonia said on Thursday it would block Russian nationals from obtaining temporary residence permits or visas to study in Estonia, in a move its foreign minister described as putting “relentless pressure” on Russia and its population.
Hungary’s prime minister said Ukraine could not win the war against Russia under Nato’s current support strategy. “This war in this form cannot be won,” Viktor Orbán said. “Without changing the strategy, there is not going to be peace.”
Former Russian state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova was fined 50,000 roubles ($820 or £681) after being found guilty of discrediting the country’s armed forces in social media posts condemning Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Ovsyannikova rejected the proceedings against her as “absurd”.
Russia’s media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has filed a lawsuit to revoke the registration of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, which had previously announced it would resume operations in Russia after the war had ended.
The UK foreign minister, Liz Truss, said she would be Ukraine’s “greatest friend” if she replaced the British prime minister, Boris Johnson. Truss said she would work with allies to provide more weapons and humanitarian aid in a commitment to “ensuring Putin fails in Ukraine and suffers a strategic defeat, and that Russia is constrained in the future”.
German cities are imposing cold showers and turning off lights to reduce their energy consumption in the face of a looming Russian gas crisis. Hanover announced energy-saving measures including turning off hot water in the showers and bathrooms of city-run buildings and leisure centres. Other cities are switching off spotlights on public monuments and turning off fountains.
