Ukraine regains territory in Kherson, Russia prepares large-scale attack on Slovyansk

By war raging for more than three months, Ukraine regains territory in the Kherson region, which has been under Russian control since the beginning of the invasion. At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to address EU leaders, who are meeting in Brussels today for an emergency summit dedicated to his country.

“Hersonissos, hold on tight, we are close!”reports the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on its Facebook page.

In its briefing on the situation in the field, which was made public last night, the Ukrainian army notes that it is coming from the region of Kherson, on the side of the villages of Andrigivka, Lozove and Bilohirka.

In a statement issued this morning, he did not elaborate on Kherson, but said Russian forces had brought special forces to the neighboring city of Mykolaif, “planning to carry out offensive operations to retake lost positions.”

The Russian side has not yet commented on Kiev’s statements about the “creation of defensive lines” by Russian troops around Kherson.

THE This counterattack of the Ukrainian forces in Kherson It comes at a time when the new Kremlin-appointed city authorities have already expressed their willingness to link up with Russia, which has said it will allow residents to apply for a Russian passport through a “simplified procedure”.

If Kherson regains control of Kiev, it will be a symbolic step forward, as the area has been completely occupied by the Russian military since launching its offensive in Ukraine on 24 February.

Add to this the fact that Kherson is strategically located in southern Ukraine, near the mouth of the Dnieper in the Black Sea.

Hersonissos starts exporting grain to Russia, according to TASS and as broadcast by international agencies and the Athens News Agency.

Meanwhile, the Russian news agency TASS reported today, citing a high-ranking local official, that the Kherson region began exporting grain from last year’s crop to Russia.

“We have room to store (the new crop) although we have a lot of grain here. “People are now exporting them in part, having agreed with those who buy them from the Russian side,” said Kirill Stremusov, deputy head of the Kremlin-appointed military-political administration in Kherson.

Ukraine accuses Russia of stealing its grain from territories occupied by Russian forces since invading Ukraine.

Zelensky addresses EU leaders

Today, the Ukrainian president is expected to address the EU leaders at the beginning of their summit via teleconference from Kyiv. On its agenda is the imposition of new sanctions on Russia.

His address Volodymyr Zelensky at the European Council the day after yesterday’s media coverage of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city in the northeastern part of the country. This is his first exit from Kyiv since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February.

“We will defend our territory to the end. “They have no hope.”

Stagnation in mediation efforts

Meanwhile, mediation efforts between Moscow and Kyiv are stalled.

At the weekend the President of France Emanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Solz had a telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin urging him to hold “direct, serious talks” with Kyiv.

The Russian forces, which have retreated from the Kharkiv region, continued their advance towards the important cities of Sheverodonetsk, which is being pounded incessantly, and Lysitshansk, the twin city of Donbass.

Located on both sides of the Siversky Donetsk River, they are threatened with being surrounded by Russian forces and pro-Russian separatists, who seek to take full control of the Donbas valley.

“As far as Donetsk is concerned, the invader is focusing on offensive operations to encircle our troops in Lisichansk and Severodonetsk,” the Ukrainian military said in a statement.

The leader of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, claimed on Saturday night that he had taken control of Sheverodonetsk, a city of 100,000 before the war.

The mayor of Sheverodonetsk, Alexander Stryuk, warned of deteriorating health in the city, which has been without electricity for more than two weeks and is being evacuated. The “constant bombing” greatly complicates the supply, mainly of drinking water, to thousands of residents who remain in the city, he added.

Russia is preparing a major attack on Sloviansk

Finally, the General Staff of the Ukrainian forces pointed out in its morning briefing on the situation on the ground that the Russian forces are preparing for a large-scale attack around Sloviansk, the base of the Ukrainian defense forces in Donbas.

Russian forces move new units as they prepare to attack Sloviansk from Russian-controlled Iziuma town about 50 miles to the north, and the recently occupied small town of Lyman, the general staff clarifies in its daily update.

Slovyansk and Kramatorsk, south of the former, are the largest urban area in Donbass still under Kiev control. Sloviansk is also the base of Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country. An occupation of the twin cities by Russian forces would be a major turning point in the war.

Trapped car explodes in Melitopol – Pro-Russian local authorities blame Kyiv

A car bomb had exploded at an Iraqi police recruiting center at Kisak, killing at least two people, Russian officials said. “attack”.

“At around 08:00 in the morning, a trapped car exploded in the city center,” said authorities in Melitopolis, near the Sea of ​​Azov, referring to two injured people, “volunteers who provided humanitarian aid”, aged 25 and 28.

An investigation has been launched into the incident, the img added.

“This is a cynical, terrorist act by the Kiev regime, an act aimed at intimidating the people of our city, an act aimed at civilians,” said Galina Danilchenko, the new mayor of the city appointed by the Russian forces, as reported by the agency Ria Novosti.

“This is a horrible situation and the Kiev regime can not imagine that the people of Melitopolis no longer want any relationship with it, we want to live a new life, another life, a peaceful life,” she said.

Russian army seizes Melitopol in first days of Russian invasion of Ukraine. On March 11, its mayor, Ivan Fedorov, was abducted by the Russians before being released a few days later. A pro-Russian administration has been established in the city.

On May 23, Andrei Chevchik, the mayor appointed by Moscow in Energodar, another city in southern Ukraine, was injured in an explosion along with two of his bodyguards.

According to the Russian commission of inquiry, “an improvised explosive device” was placed in the closet with PPC clocks at the entrance of an apartment building.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peshkov had called it an “attack” by “nationalist” Ukrainians.

The cities of Melitopol and Energodar are located in the Ukrainian province of Zaporizhia, much of which is occupied by Moscow. It borders the Russian-controlled Kherson, the annexation of which Moscow appears to be planning.

Russia now controls coastal areas in the Sea of ​​Azov, allowing it to build a land bridge to annex Crimea, which it annexed in 2014 to Russia.