MOSCOW: Russia’s forces occupying Ukraine’s southern Black Sea region of Kherson have suffered serious territorial losses to Kyiv’s troops over recent days, maps published by Moscow’s defense ministry showed Tuesday.
The maps included in Tuesday’s daily military briefing showed that Russian forces were no longer in control of the village of Dudchany on the west bank of the river Dnieper, where Ukraine’s forces have been pushing to reclaim territory captured at the start of Moscow’s offensive.
In the northeastern Kharkiv region, defense ministry maps showed that Russian forces have left positions on the west bank of the Oskil river, in the aftermath this month of a counter-offensive by Kyiv’s army.
The Ukrainian military claimed in a statement Tuesday that Russian forces in Kherson are “demoralized” and were falling back on their positions, destroying ammunition depots and bridges in their wake.
“All this in order to slow down the offensive of our troops,” the defense ministry said in their statement.
Ukraine’s deputy interior minister Yevhen Enin said Tuesday that Ukraine’s forces had recaptured 50 towns and villages in Kherson, without specifying when.
Kyiv’s forces have been slowly clawing back territory in Kherson for several weeks but the advance has accelerated in recent days.
With a population of one million before the war, Kherson is a key agricultural area and forms the gateway to the Crimean peninsula.
Its main city, also named Kherson, was one of the first to fall to Russian forces after they launched what the Kremlin calls its “special military operations” in February.
The Kremlin last week formally annexed the region along with three others even though Russian troops do not fully control it.
Russian army maps show lost ground in key Kherson region
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Russian army maps show lost ground in key Kherson region
- The maps included in Tuesday's daily military briefing showed that Russian forces were no longer in control of the village of Dudchany
- The Ukrainian military claimed in a statement Tuesday that Russian forces in Kherson are "demoralised" and were falling back on their positions
Most of Iranian women’s soccer team leave Australia
GOLD COAST: The Iranian women’s soccer team left Australia without seven squad members after tearful protests of their departure outside Sydney Airport and frantic final efforts inside the terminal by Australian officials, who sought to ensure the women understood they were being offered asylum.
As the team’s flight time drew nearer and they passed through security late on Tuesday, each woman was taken aside to meet alone with officials who explained through interpreters that they could choose not to return to Iran.
Before the team traveled to the airport, seven women had accepted humanitarian visas allowing them to remain permanently in Australia and were ushered to a safe location by Australian police officers.
One has since changed her mind, underscoring the tense and precarious nature of their decisions.
“In Australia, people are able to change their mind,” said Australian Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, who had hours earlier posted photos of the seven women granted humanitarian visas to his social media accounts, their identities clearly visible.
After what Burke described as “emotional” meetings between the remaining women who reached the airport and Australian officials, the rest of the team declined offers of asylum and boarded their flight.
It was a dramatic conclusion to an episode that had gripped Australia since the Iranian team’s first game at the Asian Cup soccer tournament, when they remained silent during their national anthem.
