Ukraine says recaptured nearly 1,200 sq km of Kherson region in ongoing counteroffensive

The Ukrainian military says its forces have recaptured some 1,200 square kilometers of the southern Kherson region since the start of a counterattack against Russian troops in late August.

Natalia Humeniuk, the Southern Ukraine military command spokesperson, said on Sunday that Kiev was making progress on the Kherson front but much had to be done to secure the newly recaptured territories.

“Work is continuing on consolidation of territory, clearing it and conducting stabilizing operations, as the settlements we enter contain many surprises left by the occupiers,” Humeniuk said on Ukrainian national television.

“As of today, from the beginning of the counter-offensive, over 1,170 square kilometers have been liberated in the Kherson direction,” she added.

Ukrainian officials have for long underscored the priority of recapturing Kherson – a flat, agricultural region that Russia captured in its near-entirety in the early days of its military operation in the former Soviet republic.

Any major territorial losses in Kherson would threaten Russia’s supply lines to the Crimean Peninsula further south, which joined Russia in a 2014 referendum.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. At the time, Putin said one of the goals of what he called a “special military operation” was to “de-Nazify” Ukraine.

The United States and the European Union have imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow since the onset of the Russian operation.

The Western states have also been accommodating Ukraine generously with advanced weapons in a move that Moscow says only draws out the conflict.

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Russia sees increased Ukrainian fire into its territory: FSB

In another development on Sunday, Russia’s security service FSB said it had seen a “considerable increase” of Ukrainian fire into its territory in recent days, adding that one person had been killed and five wounded in the past week.

“Since the start of October, the number of attacks from Ukrainian armed formations on Russia’s border territory has considerably increased,” said the FSB, which is responsible for border security.

It said the attacks had concentrated on the Russian region of Belgorod, near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, as well as Bryansk and Kursk.

“More than 100 bombardments were recorded in 32 localities, with the use of multiple rocket launchers, artillery, mortars and drones” in the past week, the FSB explained.

A child was among those wounded, it said, adding that the attacks also “destroyed two electricity stations, 11 residential buildings and two administrative buildings.”

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