As Ukraine consolidates the territory it reclaimed in the northeastern province of Kharkiv, it continues to make gains in the east and south of the country.
Kyiv forces have retaken more than 150 miles of land in the southern province of Kherson that fell to the Russians at the start of the war, the Southern Ukraine Military Command said on Thursday. Spokeswoman Natalia Humeniuk added that the situation along the southern front remained fluid.
At the same time, the Ukrainian counter-offensive which drove Russian troops from Kharkiv and across the border spread to the neighboring provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, which constitute the industrial region of Donbass coveted by the Russia. Among the prize winnings was the strategically important town of Lyman.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his officials on Wednesday announced the takeover of villages in these provinces. Zelenskyy proclaimed: “The return of the Ukrainian flag means that a peaceful and socially secure life is once again possible for Donbass.
With Russia’s attempted annexation of four provinces as a backdrop, further Ukrainian advances in parts of Luhansk appear likely due to favorable terrain and a lack of Russian reinforcements, according to the Washington-based agency. Institute for the Study of War.
Furthermore, according to the institute, “ongoing Ukrainian counter-offensives in the north and south are likely to force the Kremlin to prioritize the defense of one area of operations over another, potentially increasing the likelihood of Ukrainian success in both”.
TURNING INTO WAR? :As Russia admits defeat in Kharkiv, Ukraine regains ground and confidence
Other developments:
►US Agency for International Development official Samantha Power was in Kyiv on Thursday for meetings with government officials and residents. She said the United States would provide an additional $55 million to repair heating pipes and other equipment.
► The European Union on Thursday froze the assets of 37 other people and entities linked to the Russian war in Ukraine, including officials involved in the annexation of four Ukrainian provinces.
►Polish officials said they were distributing potassium iodide tablets to regional fire stations in case Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is damaged.
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2 Russians fleeing conscription seek US asylum after landing in Alaska
Two Russians who said they were escaping President Vladimir Putin’s military conscription are seeking US asylum after landing on a remote Alaskan island in the Bering Sea, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s office said.
Murkowski and fellow Alaskan Senator Dan Sullivan, both Republicans, said the Russians arrived at a beach near Gambell, an isolated community of about 600 people on St. Lawrence Island. Sullivan said he was alerted to the arrival on Tuesday morning, and his spokesman said it appeared the two Russians had arrived by boat.
Gambell is about 36 miles off the Chukotka Peninsula in Russia’s Siberia region.
Kremlin accuses NATO of ‘inflating’ nuclear talks
On Thursday, a Kremlin spokeswoman seemed to settle controversy over any nuclear option in Ukraine and blamed NATO for escalating nuclear rhetoric.
“The Russian Federation is fully committed to the principle of the inadmissibility of nuclear war,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
Zakharova said she will “not participate in increasing the degree of nuclear rhetoric”, saying it serves the interests of NATO countries.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, announcing a partial military mobilization for his country last month, vowed to use “all available means” to deter attacks on Russia, an allusion to Russia’s tactical nuclear arsenal. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg then warned of “serious consequences for Russia” if Putin were to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The United States issued a similar warning.
Missile attacks are closing in on Zaporizhzhia
Russia launched two missile attacks on Thursday that hit apartment buildings in the southern Ukrainian town of Zaporizhzhia, near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, authorities said. One person was killed and at least five were trapped in the rubble, Governor Oleksandr Starukh wrote on Telegram. Thursday’s strikes came hours after Ukraine announced that Russian occupation forces had been driven out of three more villages in areas illegally annexed by Moscow.
Each side blamed the other for the rocket attacks that roared harrowingly near the factory. Putin Wednesday declared Russian-owned factory, a decree quickly rejected by Ukraine. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, was due to travel to Kyiv on Thursday to continue talks on establishing a nuclear safety zone at the plant.
Contribute: The Associated Press
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