Dhe Ukrainian soldiers seem to be inexorably following the Russian units withdrawing from Cherson. In the area around the southern Ukrainian city, 41 towns have already been liberated, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily video message on Thursday evening.
Since Wednesday alone, Ukrainian units have advanced up to seven kilometers deep into territory formerly occupied by the Russians, reported the supreme commander of the Ukrainian armed forces, Valeriy Saluschnyj. According to the General Staff in Kyiv, the Russian military was only slowly withdrawing to strengthen its defense lines on the left bank of the Dnipro.
As reported by the Ukrainian governor of the Mykolaiv region, Vitaly Kim, the town of Chornobaivka is already under Ukrainian control. He did not initially provide any further details. “We remain silent because all this is a matter for the military.”
Mined terrain
Selenskyj warned of dangers in the areas given up by the occupiers. “The first and fundamental task is demining,” he said. The occupiers left behind thousands of duds and ammunition. “I’ve often heard estimates that clearing Ukraine of Russian mines will take decades.”
Zelenskyj pointed out that the current successes had been achieved “through months of brutal struggle”. “It’s not the enemy who’s leaving – it’s the Ukrainians who are driving the occupiers away,” said Zelenskyy.
