Russian military remains in full control of Kherson city, residents say

The city of Kherson remains under full Russian control, four city residents told CNNcontrary to reports in other media, which quote a top US defense official.

“Today [eu] I saw them with their guns at the market, possibly looking for vegetables to buy,” one resident told CNN on Friday night (25th). “They only lose some villages, not cities.”

THE CNN is not naming the resident out of safety concerns.

The US official told media outlets, including the CNNthat “we have seen reports of resistance in areas that were previously under Russian control”.

“We cannot corroborate exactly who is in control of Kherson, but the point is that it does not appear to be as solidly under Russian control as it once was,” the official said. “We argue that Kherson is actually contested territory again.”

The assessment that the city of Kherson was contested was based in part on images and media reports from the city showing the Ukrainian flag hanging from the town hall, according to two other defense officials.

Previous reports from CNN confirmed that the Ukrainian military counteroffensive reached the northernmost villages of the Kherson region. A team from CNN in one of the northernmost villages in the Kherson region earlier this week witnessed the Ukrainian counteroffensive there.

Despite this, in the city of Kherson, the situation remains unchanged.

Ukrainian forces managed to launch attacks from the northern Mykolaiv region into the Kherson region for more than a week. While the city’s residents continue to stage massive protests, the Russians remain firmly in control of the city and much of the region at this point.

Residents of the city hung a large Ukrainian flag on Thursday beside the town hall.