Kherson’s Liberation by September: Ukrainian Official after Intense Counterattacks

Ukraine’s southern region of Kherson, captured by Russia on 3 March, will be taken by Kyiv's forces by September, a Ukrainian official said Sunday.

“We can say that a turning point has occurred on the battlefield. We are switching from defensive to counteroffensive actions…. Kherson region will definitely be liberated by September, and all the occupiers' plans will fail," Sergiy Khlan, an aide to the head of Kherson region, said in an interview with Ukrainian television.

According to a report released July 24 by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington-based think tank, Ukrainian strikes have damaged all three Russian-controlled bridges leading into Kherson city within the past week. Khlan said that Ukrainian strikes on those bridges aim to prevent Russian forces from moving equipment into the city without stopping food and other essential supplies from entering the city.

Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russia. The region, important for Ukrainian agriculture, lies next to the annexed Crimean Peninsula. On May 30, Russians allegedly disconnected internet and mobile communications from Ukrainian operators in Kherson region.

Officials there believe that Russian troops were able to take Kherson city in part because Ukrainians failed to blow up the Antonivskyi bridge that crosses the Dnipro river, allowing enemy troops to enter the city. This bridge was targeted by the Ukrainian forces with U.S.-supplied HIMARS system, as per reports.

Also read: Russian General Killed in Ukraine’s HIMARS Attack on Kherson Ammunition Depot

Khlan said strikes on the bridges, as well as attacks on Russian arms depots and command posts were part of preparatory work for a ground offensive. “Now the key issue is getting more precision artillery strikes on the frontline to knock out the orcs (Russians) from their current positions."

Ukraine’s Operational Command “South” reported that it launched five strikes on the enemy. "A pair of attack aircraft and front-line bombers attacked three enemy strongholds in Beryslav district, and a pair of Mi-8 and Mi-24 targeted two enemy strongholds in Kherson district," the military added.

Over the past day, Ukrainian missile and artillery units carried out about 190 fire missions and eliminated 66 Russians, five tanks, two Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, Fagot anti-tank missile system, three armored personnel vehicles, nine vehicles.