Ukraine war: ‘All Russia’s plans will fail’ when Kherson is ‘liberated’ by September, official says
- The Ukrainian army, emboldened by deliveries of Western-supplied long-range artillery have been clawing back territory in the southern region in recent weeks
- ‘We can say that a turning point has occurred on the battlefield … we are switching from defensive to counteroffensive actions,’ a regional aide said
A Ukrainian official said on Sunday that the country’s southern region of Kherson, which fell to Russian troops early in their February invasion, would be recaptured by Kyiv’s forces by September.
“We can say that the Kherson region will definitely be liberated by September, and all the occupiers’ plans will fail,” Sergiy Khlan, an aide to the head of Kherson region, said in an interview with Ukrainian television.
The Ukrainian army, emboldened by deliveries of Western-supplied long-range artillery have been clawing back territory in the southern Kherson region in recent weeks.
“We can say that a turning point has occurred on the battlefield. We see that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are prevailing in their most recent military operations,” Khlan said.
“We see that our armed forces are advancing openly. We can say that we are switching from defensive to counteroffensive actions,” he added.
While Russia has thrown the bulk of its forces at the bloody onslaught in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, the battle for Kherson could prove a more defining fight in shaping the future of the war.