Russia is no longer aiming to take over eastern Ukraine alone, but has broadened its ambitions, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday (July 20th), saying the geography was changing in Ukraine, and that Russia also wanted to integrate the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhya. But it is precisely in this part of the country, already partially occupied, that the kyiv authorities seem to be preparing a counter-attack.
With our correspondent in Ukraine, Stephane Siohan
In recent days, the Ukrainian army has started large-scale operations, aimed at regaining control of Kherson region, bordering Crimea. With the use of Western weapons, kyiv is already putting pressure on this regional capital, at the mouth of the Dnieper.
While clashes in the Donbass continue, the battle for Kherson, in southern Ukraine, has only just begun. For forty-eight hours, on the networks, a large number of photos and videos have been circulating, showing the Antonovsky Bridge, on the outskirts of Kherson, riddled with artillery impacts.
This monumental work, 1,300 meters long, built over the Dnieper, in the suburbs of Kherson, fell under the control of the Russians at the beginning of the war, and from now on it is regularly bombarded by the Ukrainian army, which uses of the Himars-type multiple rocket launchersAmerican made.
Destroy the Russian fleet in the Black Sea
On Wednesday evening, Ukrainian strikes hit arms depots in the seaside resort of Skadovsk, almost a hundred kilometers from the front. Ukrainian officials are now openly talking about a counter-offensive aimed at destroying the Russian fleet in the Black Sea.
Thursday, July 21, the US administration announced the delivery to Ukraine of new long-range missile systems. It is a safe bet that they will soon be used to launch an assault on the highly symbolic city of Kherson, with the line of sight, a little further south, the Russian military bases in Crimea.
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