Zelensky tells Russians to run for their lives from Ukraine offensive in south
- In his nightly address, Volodymyr Zelensky said ‘if the occupiers want to survive, it is time for the Russian military to flee. Go home’
- Ukrainian troops started several offensives in the south, including in the Kherson region which lies north of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula
Ukraine reported heavy fighting as it started an offensive in the region around Kherson, a river port that was one of the first cities to fall to Russian forces at the start of the war.
Artillery hit Russian positions around the Kherson region, according to the Ukrainian military’s southern command, which said a counteroffensive began on Monday along several points on the front. Russia’s Defence Ministry confirmed the attacks in a statement, and said the push “failed miserably.”
The US Department of Defence said there was an increase in fighting around Kherson, without labelling it a counteroffensive. A US National Security Council spokesman called for a “controlled shutdown” of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is near the clashes and has come under shelling.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Russian soldiers to flee for their lives after his forces launched an offensive to retake southern Ukraine, but Moscow said it had repulsed the attack and inflicted heavy losses on Kyiv’s troops.
Ukraine said on Monday its ground forces had gone on the offensive in the south for the first time after a long period of striking Russian supply lines, in particular bridges across the strategically-important River Dnipro, and ammunition dumps.
“If they want to survive, it’s time for the Russian military to run away. Go home,” Zelensky said in a late night address.
“Ukraine is taking back its own [land],” he said, adding that he would not disclose Kyiv’s battle plans.