Ukraine’s military claims to have broken through Russia’s first line of defence in the occupied Kherson region.
The reported push appears to form part of a long-awaited counter-offensive being launched by Kyiv in an attempt to retake the country’s south.
It follows weeks of Ukrainian attacks aimed at cutting off Russian forces there from main supply routes.
Russia’s military claims that Ukrainian troops suffered “heavy losses” during an unsuccessful attacking attempt.
The claims by both Ukraine and Russia have not been independently verified.
Russia has occupied large swathes of Ukraine’s Kherson region since its invasion began on 24 February.
On Monday, Ukraine’s Kakhovka operational group in the south said that one regiment of Russian-backed forces had left its positions in the Kherson region.
It added that Russian paratroopers providing the back-up had fled the battlefield.
Ukraine’s Hromadske TV said three of its sources in Ukraine’s military confirmed that the first line of…
This article was written by and originally published on www.bbc.co.uk