Russia may launch southern offensive to try to regain momentum, Ukraine general says

A typical perspective shows the Russia-controlled metropolis of Kherson, Ukraine July 24, 2022. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

KYIV, Aug 4 (Reuters) – Russia may launch an offensive in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson to consider to wrest again momentum from Kyiv and has been visibly building up forces, Ukrainian Standard Oleksiy Hromov said on Thursday.

Russia retains swathes of Ukraine’s south that it captured in the early phases of its Feb. 24 invasion, but Kyiv has vowed to mount a important counter-offensive and used advanced western weapons to strike Russian supply lines and ammo dumps.

Hromov mentioned Russia experienced brought in a substantial amount of weapons and hardware to the northeast of the strategically crucial southern area of Kherson, substantially of which is occupied by Russia.

“It’s attainable the enemy may possibly or will try out to carry out offensive functions deep into our territory in order to seize the initiative and threaten the development of our achievements in buy to force the (Ukrainian army) to quit growing bridgeheads and go on the defensive,” he instructed a information meeting.

In the east, he explained Ukraine experienced improved its tactical place all-around the japanese metropolis of Sloviansk, recapturing two villages, but that Russian forces experienced been seeking to just take the jap city of Avdiivka and village of Pisky.

Ukrainian forces experienced been pressured to concede territory there, switching to defending south of the city of Avdiivka and leaving the Butivka coal mine, he reported.

Reporting by Pavel Polityuk composing by Tom Balmforth editing by William Maclean, Kirsten Donovan

Our Specifications: The Thomson Reuters Belief Rules.