There were growing expectations that Ukrainian troops were planning to launch an operation to retake Kherson, which was the first regional capital Russia captured from Ukraine early in the invasion. The first source said: “The Ukrainian operation in Kherson has begun.” The source said Ukrainian armed forces are advancing and forcing the Russian side to “retreat from their positions.” Image: An armored truck of pro-Russian troops is parked in Kherson in July Ukrainian troops “break through” the first line of Russian defense in a key area – latest updates A second source said the push is coming from several directions in the Kherson region. “We have launched the attack in a couple of directions. We cannot give too many details about this operation, but it has started,” the second source said. Southern Command spokeswoman Natalya Khomenyuk confirmed the attack in a news briefing and said it included the Kherson region, according to excerpts from Ukrainian TV station Suspilne. He said Ukraine had hit more than 10 munitions dumps in the past week and had “undoubtedly weakened the enemy”. He declined to give exact details of the operation, saying Russian forces in southern Ukraine remain “rather strong.” “The counter-offensive has already been going on for a while (in the sense that) it wears the enemy down and doesn’t give him a chance to advance,” Ms Humeniuk told Suspilne, adding that the offensive phase had begun on Monday. However, the governor of Ukraine’s Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, Sergei Aksionov, dismissed her announcement as “another hoax of Ukrainian propaganda”. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 3:46 Kherson: A city in fear However, a tweet from the Ukrainian government’s Stratcom Center said: “The Armed Forces of Ukraine breached the occupiers’ first line of defense near Kherson. “They believe that Ukraine has a real chance to take back its occupied territories, especially considering the very successful use of Western weapons by the Ukrainian military.” Ukraine’s presidential office reported heavy fighting and multiple Ukrainian strikes in the Kherson region, most of which is occupied by the Russians. Ukrainian strategy has focused on destroying four bridges that Russian forces must hold to supply Kherson, at the southern end of the Dnipro River. Read more: Residents near power plant given iodine tablets in case of radioactive leak Russia has put Europe ‘one step’ away from radioactive disaster It comes as a team from the UN’s nuclear watchdog – the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – headed to Ukraine to inspect Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which was seized by Russian forces at the start of the invasion but is still run by Ukrainians workers. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 1:03 “Personnel tortured” at Ukraine’s nuclear power plant Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of carrying out bombings near the Zaporizhzhia power station amid fears there could be a radioactive leak. With IAEA experts expected to arrive there later this week, the agency said the mission would examine physical damage, assess conditions for personnel and “determine the functionality of safety and security systems.” It would also perform urgent safeguards activities, a reference to monitoring nuclear material. Officials based in Russia said Monday that a Ukrainian missile attack blew a hole in the roof of a fuel warehouse at the plant. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that its forces shot down a Ukrainian drone that was trying to attack the power plant, according to Russian news agencies. He said there was no serious damage and radioactivity levels were normal. Subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Spreaker The UN, US and Ukraine have called for the withdrawal of Russian military equipment and personnel from the complex, so it is not a target – but the Kremlin has insisted its troops will not leave. The Kremlin also said the IAEA mission was “necessary” and urged the international community to pressure Ukraine to reduce military tensions at the plant.
