The region is located next to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Kyiv:
A Ukrainian official said on Sunday that the southern region of Kherson, which fell to Russian forces at the start of their invasion in February, will be recaptured by Kiev’s forces by September.
“We can say that the Kherson region will certainly be liberated by September and that all plans of the occupiers will fail,” Sergiy Khlan, an assistant to the head of the Kherson region, said in an interview with Ukrainian television.
The Ukrainian army, encouraged by supplies of long-range artillery supplied by the West, has been reclaiming territory in the southern region of Kherson in recent weeks.
“We can say that there has been a turning point on the battlefield. We see Ukraine’s armed forces prevailing in their most recent military operations,” Khlan said.
“We see our armed forces advancing openly. We can say that we are switching from defensive to counter-offensive actions,” he added.
He said Ukrainian attacks on two key bridges in the region, as well as attacks on Russian weapons depots and command posts, were part of the preparations for a ground offensive.
“The main problem now is getting more accurate artillery strikes on the front lines to knock the Orcs (Russians) out of their current positions.”
He added that Russian troops had not repaired the damaged Antonivka Bridge and encountered difficulties as a result of moving heavy weapons to the city of Kherson.
Russian forces captured the main city in the region, known as Kherson, on March 3. It was the first major city to fall after the start of Moscow’s military operation in Ukraine in late February.
The region, important for Ukrainian agriculture, is located next to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.)
