Russia bombards central Ukraine, announces recapture of village in Kiev’s south, talks of “hard-to-penetrate” Russian defense line | news

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced the advance of its forces in Zaporizhia and regained control over the city of Robotin in the province, and attempted to advance south in a counteroffensive against Russian forces, while stressing. Russian forces have established defensive lines that are difficult to penetrate.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said Russian forces have worked to build a 3-tier defense line in southern Ukraine that is difficult to penetrate.

Ukrainian forces clashed with Russian defense lines, which included trenches and mines several kilometers deep, and managed to retake some villages in the south, and pressed the outskirts of Baghmut to the east.

The town of Robotin is the center of a Ukrainian counteroffensive in Zaporizhia County, and taking it would mean breaking through the first line of Russian defense in the province.

Ukrainian forces have regained control of 44 square kilometers of the Pakmut front since the start of the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said, adding that it has regained control of about one square kilometer south of the town of Pakmut in Donetsk province.

For its part, Russian military sources denied that Ukrainian forces had taken control of the town of Robotin, saying that fighting was ongoing around the town and that Ukrainian forces were sending reinforcements to try to infiltrate from the northern side. , but without making any progress.

Russian loyalists in Zaporizhia broadcast images of two US-made “Bradley” armored vehicles belonging to the Ukrainian military destroyed on the outskirts of the city.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces repulsed an attempt by the Ukrainian army to advance near the town of Klichevka (west of Pakmutin), and the ministry released images it said targeted Ukrainian forces trying to maintain their positions in the area. Near Klishevka, images show burning Ukrainian military vehicles and evacuation of wounded and injured Ukrainian forces.

Air defenses destroyed two Ukrainian drones in the Tula region south of Moscow on Tuesday, RIA news agency quoted the Russian Defense Ministry as saying.

Russian officials announced Monday that they had foiled attacks by Ukrainian drones in Moscow, Bryansk and Crimea.

Moscow’s mayor said air defense forces shot down a drone flying toward the Russian capital. Moscow’s Domodedovo and Vnukovo international airports were briefly closed for departures and arrivals before operations resumed.

5 people were killed in the Russian attack

On the other hand, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klimenko said that three people were killed in a Russian missile attack on Monday evening in the Poltava region (the center of the country).

All three were employees of an industrial company targeted by the Russian attack, the minister said, adding that five people were injured and one was missing.

Andriy Yermak, director of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said the facility was a vegetable oil factory in the Mirhorod region. He posted pictures showing the factory on fire. Klimenko said the fire was later extinguished.

Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Kherson region, said a blast killed a 63-year-old woman in the village of Sadov, and a man working outside his home in Toritsk, Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, in Russian. bombing.

Ukraine’s military says Russia fired four missiles at the country from the Black Sea last night, two of which were shot down. He added that the Kryvyi Rih region was also under missile attack. Local authorities said several houses were damaged but did not report any casualties.

Conflict between Washington and Kiev

CNN, on the other hand, quoted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as saying that shifting the war to the Russian border was fraught with risks, and that if it did, Ukrainians would be left to their fate and Ukraine would be left alone.

Zelensky pointed out that political means could pressure Russia’s militarization of Crimea.

The Wall Street Journal cited U.S. officials as saying that Washington and Kiev are at odds over the counteroffensive, and that the U.S. believes the scale of military aid is helping Ukraine fight Russia.