Locals forced to flee recaptured city as Russian attacks intensify
UKRAINIANS are streaming out of the southern city of Kherson to escape the Russian shelling.
Just weeks after celebrating the recapture of the key port city, citizens began fleeing in a line of trucks, vans and cars stretching for half a mile.
Days of intense bombing, which has killed 32 residents, and fears over coping with the harsh winter without power, has prompted the exodus.
As his van inched forward yesterday, resident Yevhen Yankov said: “It is sad that we are leaving our home but there is shelling and there are people dying.”
Russia has ramped up its attacks on critical infrastructure after suffering battlefield setbacks.
One target was the 1,300metre Antonivsky Bridge, in Kherson, which has been destroyed.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky accusing the invaders of deliberately targeting vital infrastructure during their withdrawal, including electricity and water supplies.
Meanwhile, with heavy snowfall in capital Kyiv yesterday, analysts say wintry weather – bringing with it frozen terrain and gruelling fighting conditions – will have a huge impact on the war.
In the eastern Donetsk region, five people were killed in shelling, while there were attacks on Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro in the west.
It was also reported that Russian forces appear ready to quit the giant Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which they seized in March.
The invaders have suffered heavy casualties in Donetsk and are unlikely to achieve a breakthrough there, the UK Ministry of Defence says.
It added: “Russia assesses the area has potential as a launch point for a future advance north to capture the remainder of Ukrainian-held Donetsk Oblast.
“However, its forces are unlikely to achieve a breakthrough.”
The MoD also confirmed that as part of its aid package, Ukraine has now taken delivery of precision-guided Brimstone 2 missiles.