A man stands atop a Russian tank and flies the Ukrainian flag, defying the Russian occupation of Kherson in southern Ukraine
Tuesday’s Coverage: Zelenskiy — “We Are Gradually Moving Forward”
Source: Institute for the Study of War
UPDATE 2250 GMT:
UK national Simon Lingard has been killed in fighting in Ukraine.
Lingard’s family said the father of two was slain on Monday.
A Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed Lingard’s death, “We are supporting the family of a British national who has lost his life in Ukraine and we are in touch with the local authorities in connection with his death.”
UPDATE 2243 GMT:
Two key supporters of Vladimir Putin — but also potential challengers if the military turns against Putin’s command — have defended the decision to abandon Kherson city.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group mercenaries, said, “Of course, this is not a victorious step in this war, but it is important not to agonize, not succumb to paranoia, but to draw conclusions and work on our mistakes.”
Prigozhin and Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-designated head of Chechnya, backed the command of Gen. Sergey Surovikin after pushing for his appointment last month. Kadyrov said:
After weighing all the pros and cons, General Surovikin made a difficult but correct decision… everyone knew that Kherson is a difficult combat territory from the very first days of the special operation.
UPDATE 2219 GMT:
Russian forces are withdrawing from Kherson city, marking the defeat of Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion after 8 1/2 months.
Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu ordered troops to cross to the right bank of the Dnipro River.
Gen. Sergey Surovikin — approved overall commander of the Russian invasion only a few weeks ago — told Shoygu on national TV that he had recommended the withdrawal:
Kherson cannot be fully supplied and function. Russia did everything possible to ensure the evacuation of the inhabitants of Kherson.
The decision to defend on the left bank of the Dnieper is not easy, at the same time we will save the lives of our military.
The order came soon after confirmation that the main bridge on a road out of the city was blown up.
The span of the Darivka Bridge, which runs east out of Kherson, collapsed into the Inhulets Rivers, a tributary of the Dnipro.
Ukrainian officials assessed that the Russians detonated the bridge to prevent pursuit of their retreating troops.
Serhii Khlan, the Ukrainian deputy head of the Kherson regional council, said the Russian army had blown up all of the bridges over the Inhulets.
They are panicking. The occupiers are preparing their withdrawal. They are disabling the bridges to deter our advance.
The Russians also reinforced positions south of Snihurivka, having left the village, to give cover to retreating troops, he said.
UPDATE 1427 GMT:
High-level Russian and Iranian officials are holding discussions in Tehran.
Nikolai Patrushev, the Secretary of Russia’s National Security Council, was welcomed on Tuesday by Iranian counterpart Ali Shamkhani and has met President Ebrahim Raisi today.
No details have been given on the talks so far.
UPDATE 1418 GMT:
The Russian proxy deputy administrator of the occupied Kherson region, Kirill Stremousov, has died in an automobile accident.
Stremousov had been prominent in putting out Russian lines over its invasion, occupation, and then the movement of Ukrainians out of the area in the face of Ukraine’s counter-offensive.
UPDATE 1411 GMT:
The latest Russian attacks on the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine have killed three civilians and injured seven.
At least nine civilians have been killed and 24 wounded in the past day, according to President Zelenskiy’s office.
UPDATE 1354 GMT:
Intense fighting — and a possible Ukrainian advance — is reported today in southern Ukraine.
The Russian proxy mayor of Snihurivka, east of Mykolaiv, says residents have seen “tanks moving around and…heavy fighting on the edge of the town.”
“People saw this equipment moving through the streets in the town centre,” added Yuri Barabashov.
The Russian proxy deputy administrator of the Kherson region, Kirill Stremousov, said Ukrainian forces are trying to advance on three fronts.
The Ukrainian governor of Mykolaiv, Vitaly Kim, quoting an intercepted conversation between Russian troops, indicated Ukraine’s forces have already liberated the area.
ORIGINAL ENTRY: Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has pledged, “We will not yield a single centimeter of our land” to Russia’s invasion.”
Zelenskiy’s latest address to the nation is not only a marker of resistance to any Russian assaults, including in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. It is also a sign of confidence in Ukrainian forces continuing to retake territory in the east and south of the country — including areas held by Russia since 2014.
The President effectively reaffirmed the precondition for any negotiations as Russian withdrawal from all occupied territory. That includes Crimea, “annexed” by Moscow in 2014, and the reversal of Vladimir Putin’s September “annexation” of four regions — Donetsk and Luhansk in the east and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south.
Zelenskiy said the current situation is “difficult on the entire front” in Donetsk:
The activity of the occupiers remains at an extremely high level – dozens of attacks every day. They are suffering extraordinarily high losses. But their order remains the same – to advance on the administrative boundary of Donetsk region.
But he assured that in the east, “Step by step, we are moving towards the return of the Ukrainian flag to all our cities and communities. We are also actively reinforcing the border.”
And in the south, “[We] act carefully, thoughtfully and in the interests of the liberation of our entire territory. We are reinforcing our positions, ruining Russian logistics, and consistently destroying the potential of the occupiers.”
