Ukraine launches new attacks in bid to retake Kherson, occupier says

Ukraine launches new attacks in bid to retake Kherson, occupier says
October 19, 2022, 5:00 pm

Liberated village of Torske in Donetsk Oblast 📷Kostyantyn Liberov, Vlada Liberova

Ukrainian forces went on the offensive on Wednesday (Oct 19) in the southern Kherson region illegally annexed by Moscow, where Russia's hold has grown shakier in recent days.

The deputy head of the pro-Russian administration in the region, Kirill Stremousov, said on Telegram that Ukrainian forces were launching attacks in the direction of the towns of Nova Kamianka and Beryslav. All attacks have been repelled, he said.

Kiev has yet to comment on Stremousov's battlefield claim, but said earlier Wednesday (Oct 19) that it had shot down a Russian Ka-52 attack helicopter in the Kherson region.

Stremousov said the Ukrainian army has amassed tens of thousands of soldiers to retake Kherson. Russian-imposed authorities in the region have told tens of thousands of civilians to be ready to flee, perhaps to Russia.

The aftermath of Russia’s missile strike on Mykolayiv during the night of October 13. Eight Russian missiles struck civilian infrastructure, with no military sites in the area - Photo. Kostantyn & Vlada Liberov https://www.facebook.com/libkos.photo/Euromaidan Press

The Russia-installed local leader said, tens of thousands of civilians and Russian-appointed officials are being moved out of Ukraine's southern Kherson region ahead of a Ukrainian offensive.

In a separate development, Russia's Vladimir Putin said he had signed a decree imposing martial law on four Ukrainian regions, including Kherson, which Moscow annexed last month in a move rejected as illegal by the international community.

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He told Russia's Security Council that it would give regional leaders additional powers to maintain social order and safeguard important facilities.

In March, the Russian army captured large parts of the Kherson region, including the regional capital of the same name. The Ukrainian military, which succeeded in ousting the Russian army from the eastern Kharkiv region in September, is now aiming to recapture Kherson and other occupied areas.

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