Panicked Russians are frantically fleeing the border city of Belgorod after Ukraine launched a barrage of missiles overnight in retaliation for Putin’s bold actions.
Civilians may be seen attempting to pack into the midnight train departing the city yesterday night in video captured from the station, which is just 25 kilometres from Ukraine.
The panic started as footage of Ukrainian missiles flying over the city before being shot down by defence systems were published on Telegram.
The rockets ignited in dazzling white light, lighting up the night sky above the apartment complexes.
Due to its closeness to the border and the storage of Russian weapons, Belgorod has been seen as a target for Ukrainian assaults, and the Kremlin often launches attacks from the area.
A munitions stockpile fire in Belgorod last week forced the evacuation of two communities.
And in July, what seemed to be a Ukrainian attack resulted in at least three fatalities and the devastation of hundreds of dwellings.
After his soldiers started an operation to regain southern Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky advised Russians to evacuate for their lives, which sparked the panic.
After a period of attacking Russian supply lines, particularly bridges over the strategically significant River Dnipro, and ammo depots, Ukraine said on Monday that its ground troops had launched their first assault in the south.
Zelensky warned the Russian soldiers to return home or risk being pursued in a late-night speech on Monday.
“The Russian military has to flee if they want to live.” He said, “Go home.”
Zelensky said that “Ukraine is taking back its own (country),” adding that he would not reveal Kyiv’s detailed combat plans but that his military forces were carrying out their duties.
The fresh attack comes after many weeks of mostly inaction in a conflict that has resulted in thousands of deaths, millions of displaced people, the destruction of cities, and the escalation of unprecedented Western economic penalties against Russia.
In its early stages, Russia annexed Crimea and seized large portions of southern Ukraine close to the Black Sea coast, including the Kherson area.
With modern weaponry provided by the West, Ukraine views retaking the area as essential to thwarting Russian plans to annex further land to the west, which may ultimately shut off its access to the Black Sea.
Senior Ukrainian presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych said that Russian defences in the Kherson area had been “broken through in a few hours.” It was unclear exactly which of the several lines of Russian defence he was referring.
Arestovych further claimed that Russian boats that were supplying a sliver of land on the west bank of the Dnipro river in the Kherson area were being shelled by Ukrainian troops.
However, it was not yet able to determine the extent of Ukrainian territorial gains, according to Britain, a key friend of Ukraine. On Tuesday, Kyiv increased its artillery bombardment throughout the whole southern front.
The Mykolaiv region’s governor, Vitaly Kim, informed Ukrainian TV that “heavy combat” was taking place. Our armed forces are on duty constantly. The territory of Kherson will soon be freed.
Unconfirmed claims, pictures, and video circulated on social media gave the impression that Ukrainian troops had maybe retaken certain villages and destroyed some Russian targets in the south.
The Russian news agency RIA said that a Ukrainian missile attack has left the town of Nova Kakhovka, which is under Russian control, without water or electricity.
The Ukrainian attack, according to the Russian defence ministry, has been stopped in its tracks.
In a statement, it claimed that Ukrainian troops had tried to launch three separate offensives in the southern Mykolaiv and Kherson districts but had suffered losses of around 560 soldiers, 26 tanks, and two aircraft.
It said, “Another effort by the adversary to launch an attack has failed.”
The combat reports were not confirmed by Reuters.
Tuesday saw explosions in the Kherson region, according to the national station Suspilne in Ukraine, and inhabitants of the city posted about shooting and explosions on social media. According to them, it was unclear who was firing.
A Russian-installed official in Kherson said that Russian soldiers had found and eliminated a Ukrainian sabotage outfit there.
Also reported was heavy Russian bombardment of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city.
According to Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of Kharkiv, at least five people were murdered and seven more were injured.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility in central-southern Ukraine, which was taken by Russian forces in March but is being run by Ukrainian employees, has been a flashpoint in the war, with both sides swapping accusations for shelling nearby.
According to the TASS news agency, Russian-installed officials blamed Ukrainian forces for launching two rounds that went off close to a spent fuel storage structure at the facility. The Ukrainian side had no quick comments.
The biggest nuclear power station in Europe is set to receive an inspection and damage assessment mission later this week from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The team, headed by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi, will assess working conditions and examine security and safety measures, according to the Vienna-based organisation.
The European Union is considering new strategies to put pressure on Russia to resolve the conflict, but France and Germany issued a warning against suggestions to outlaw Russian tourist visas on Tuesday, arguing that such a step, which is highly supported by the Baltic republics, would be ineffective.
The plans were deemed “irrational” by the Kremlin.