Zelenskiy tells Russians to run for their lives from Ukraine offensive
in south
Send a link to a friend
[August 30, 2022]
By Andrea Shalal and Max Hunder
MYKOLAIV, Ukraine/KYIV (Reuters) -
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has urged Russian troops to flee
for their lives after his forces launched an offensive to retake
southern Ukraine, but Moscow said it had halted the attack in its tracks
and inflicted heavy losses on Kyiv.
Ukraine said on Monday its ground forces had gone on the offensive in
the south for the first time after a period of striking Russian supply
lines, in particular bridges across the strategically-important River
Dnipro, and ammunition dumps.
In a late night address on Monday, Zelenskiy called on Russian forces to
go home or be chased home.
"If they want to survive - it's time for the Russian military to run
away. Go home," he said.
"Ukraine is taking back its own (land)," Zelenskiy said, adding that he
would not disclose Kyiv's precise battle plans, but that his armed
forces were doing their job.

The new offensive comes after several weeks of relative stalemate in a
war that has killed thousands, displaced millions, destroyed cities and
fuelled a global energy and food crisis amid unprecedented Western
economic sanctions on Russia.
Russia captured swathes of Ukraine's south near the Black Sea coast in
its early phase, including in the Kherson region which lies north of the
Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula.
Ukraine, now armed with sophisticated Western-supplied weapons, sees
retaking the region as crucial to prevent Russian attempts to seize more
territory further to the west that could eventually cut off its access
to the Black Sea.
HEAVY FIGHTING
Oleksiy Arestovych, a senior Ukrainian presidential adviser, said
Russian defences in the Kherson region had been "broken through in a few
hours." It was unclear which line of Russian defence, of which there are
many, he was referring to.
Arestovych also said Ukrainian forces were shelling ferries that Russia
was using to supply a pocket of territory on the west bank of the Dnipro
river in the Kherson region.
Britain, a close ally of Ukraine, said on Tuesday that Kyiv had stepped
up its artillery barrage across the entire southern front, but said it
was not yet possible to confirm the extent of Ukrainian territorial
advances.
Vitaly Kim, governor of the Mykolaiv region, told Ukrainian TV: "Heavy
fighting is going on. Our military is working around the clock.
Liberation of the Kherson region is coming soon."
Unverified reports, images and footage on social media suggested that
Ukrainian forces may have taken back some villages and destroyed some
Russian targets in the south.
Russia's RIA news agency reported that the Russian-controlled town of
Nova Kakhovka had been left without water or power after a Ukrainian
missile strike.
However, Russia's defence ministry said the Ukrainian offensive had been
halted in its tracks.
[to top of second column]
|

A man walks with his bicycle past houses
destroyed by a strike, amid Russia's invasion, in Mykolaiv, Ukraine,
August 29, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

It said in a statement that Ukrainian forces had attempted to go on
the offensive in three different directions in the southern Mykolaiv
and Kherson regions, but had lost some 560 military personnel, 26
tanks and two warplanes.
"Another attempt by the enemy to go on the offensive has fallen
apart," it said.
Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports.
Ukraine's Suspilne public broadcaster reported explosions in the
Kherson area on Tuesday, while city residents reported in social
media posts gunfire and explosions. They said it was not clear who
was firing.
A Russian-installed official in Kherson said Russian forces had
discovered a Ukrainian sabotage group in the city and destroyed it.
NUCLEAR PLANT IN FOCUS
Heavy Russian shelling of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, was also
reported.
At least five people were killed and seven were wounded, the mayor
of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians though its attacks
have devastated Ukrainian towns and cities.
Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 to wage what it said was a
"special military operation" to rid the country of nationalists and
protect Russian-speaking communities. Ukraine and its allies
describe it as an unprovoked war of aggression.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in central southern Ukraine,
captured by Russian troops in March but still manned by Ukrainian
staff, has been a hotspot in the conflict, with both sides trading
blame for shelling in the vicinity.

Russian-installed authorities accused Ukrainian troops of firing two
shells that exploded near a spent fuel storage building at the
plant, the TASS news agency reported. There was no immediate comment
from the Ukrainian side.
A mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is
headed to the nuclear plant, Europe's largest, and is due later this
week to inspect and assess any damage.
Led by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, the mission will evaluate working
conditions and check safety and security systems, the Vienna-based
organisation said.
The European Union is examining fresh ways to pressure Russia to end
the war, but France and Germany warned on Tuesday against proposals
to ban tourist visas for Russians, saying such a move - strongly
backed by the Baltic states - would be counter-productive.
The Kremlin condemned the proposals as "irrational".
(Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Himani Sarkar/Andrew
Osborn; Editing by Gareth Jones)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |