Intensification of counter-offensive in Kherson Oblast, another shelling of Kharkiv: last night's highlights

Zelenskyy on the situation at the front

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced without details that the offensive movement of Ukrainian defenders continues. Fierce fighting is underway in many areas of the front and there are already new liberated settlements in several oblasts.

Successes in the south

Reuters calls the latest successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces "the biggest breakthrough in the south since the beginning of the war". Ukrainian troops have broken through Russian defenses, advancing rapidly along the Dnipro River.

The Armed Forces have already liberated a number of settlements. The Ukrainian side provided little information, but the Russian-backed leader of the occupied part of Kherson Oblast, Vladimir Saldo, acknowledged the breakthrough near the village of Dudchany.

Probable map of hostilities in Kherson Oblast. Blue color indicates the latest liberated territories, green - previously liberated, and red - occupied. Photo: DeepState

Ukrainian officials also reported the liberation of a number of settlements along the strategic Dnipro River. In particular, Kherson Regional Council deputy Sergey Khlan announced the de-occupation of Osokorivka, Mykhailivka, Khreschenivka and Zolota Balka.

Over the last day alone, Ukrainian troops destroyed 87 enemy troops and more than 60 units of their equipment on the southern front, some of them were taken as trophies.

Strike on Kharkiv

Russian occupation troops opened fire on Kharkiv at night. They shelled two districts of the city — Kholodnohirskyi and Novobavarskyi. One woman died as a result.

Zelenskyy on whom to consider collaborators

Russian propagandists are intimidating people in the areas still controlled by the occupiers that Ukraine will allegedly consider everyone who remained in the occupied territory as collaborators. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it "absolute nonsense".

"Our approach has always been and will remain clear and fair. If a person did not serve the occupiers and did not betray Ukraine, there is no reason to consider such a person a collaborator," the President said.

Other news

• Russia has caused more than $35 billion damage to the environment of Ukraine. Millions of hectares of nature reserves are under threat;
• The State Bureau of Investigation handed over to the government a list of Russian companies and citizens whose property it advises to seize. Employees of the agency investigated more than 200 companies in various sectors of the economy;
• An agricultural enterprise was damaged as a result of another shelling in Sumy Oblast. During the day, Russians fired twice at the border in Okhtyrka district of Sumy Oblast. A total of 11 artillery attacks were registered there;
• Russian court punished "Mrs. Crimea" and her friend for the song "Oh, there is a red viburnum in the meadow". Olga Valeyeva was fined 40,000 rubles, and her friend was arrested for 10 days. Also a video appeared online, where the women apologize on camera;
• About 10,000 Ukrainian citizens left the occupied Crimea. Pro-Russian activists are engaged in deliberate persecution of Ukrainians fleeing from criminal mobilization — information about them is passed to "law enforcement".