Russian strikes intensified in northeastern Ukraine on Wednesday evening August 17 and Thursday August 18, particularly in Kharkiv: at least four dead and twenty wounded Thursday morning, after seven people in the evening, according to the Ukrainians. The strikes also targeted Belgorod and Krasnograd in the vicinity of the country’s second city. But in the South, Ukraine is continuing the counter-offensive, and is putting the Russians in difficulty.
The Ukrainians hit a military base in Nova Kakhovka, near Kherson: the infrastructure was destroyed and the attack killed 12 Russian soldiers, announces the Ukrainian General Staff.
strong explosion
Still to the south, in the occupied zonethe mayor of Melitopol reports a loud explosion heard near a Russian operations center in the heart of the city.
the southern front is under high tension and after the recent attacks in Crimea, which notably affected airports. Moscow is reorganizing its forces, the Russian army is sheltering its planes and helicopters: according to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, the occupiers are pushing their planes back towards the interior of the peninsula, or even further into the territory of the Russian Federation Russia.
New Commander
The Kremlin has also appointed a new commander at the head of the Black Sea Fleet, Vice-Admiral Viktor Sokolov. The prestigious Russian force has suffered major setbacks since the start of the invasion, including the sinking of the flagship Moskva in April.
And before the visit by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Lviv today, military adviser Volodymyr Zelensky said the conflict, strategically, was at an impasse.
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