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In response to
"Days after the mutiny, Lukashenko offers some rare criticism of Putin."
by
crash davis 😺
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Ukrainian forces take more swampy river areas near Kherson, Russian analysts say.
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Ukrainian forces appear to be seizing more of the river islands and swampy banks around the southern city of Kherson in a possible expansion of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, according to residents and Russian military bloggers.
Over the past few days, boats carrying Ukrainian soldiers have been spotted cruising around the Antonivskiy Bridge that stretches across the Dnipro River near Kherson, based on video footage posted by Russian military bloggers and accounts from Kherson residents. The accounts could not be independently verified.
Ukraine took back the city of Kherson, which lies on the western bank of the Dnipro, in November as Russian forces retreated to the opposite side of the river. In recent days, pro-war Russian bloggers have expressed concern that Ukrainian soldiers now “completely control” the bushy islands in the middle of the river, which have been contested for months.
At the same time, Ukrainian officials said that Russian forces on the eastern bank, also known as the “left bank,” have begun looting large pieces of infrastructure, including windmills, in a sign that they might be preparing to flee.
“The Russians are in a hurry on the left bank,” said Serhiy Khlan, a member of the Kherson Regional Council. “The wave of looting has increased.”
The reports could not be verified. Days before the Russians pulled out of the city of Kherson, officials and residents have said, Moscow’s troops went on a looting spree, grabbing everything from factory equipment and washing machines to speedboats, gold and wads of cash from residents.
Since then the Russians have retreated to small towns and marshy areas along the eastern bank. Military analysts say the Russians may pull back from this territory as well because it is not vital to defend Crimea, the peninsula that Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014 and has been a staging ground for Russia’s invasion.
Still, Russian forces continue to relentlessly shell Kherson and nearby towns. According to Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of Kherson’s military administration, Russians fired more than 250 mortars, rockets, artillery shells and other munitions at the area in the past day.
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