Ukrainian troopsbolstered by military aid from Westlaunched a long-awaited counteroffensive to recapture territory in the south, as Russian forces shelled residential areas in the port city of Mikolaivin the Black Sea.
Moscow acknowledged that there was a new offensive, but said it had failed and the Ukrainians had suffered heavy casualties.
However, a barrage of Ukrainian rockets left the town without water or electricity. city of Nova Kakhovkaoccupied by Russia, officials from the Russian designated local authority told the RIA news agency.
The new Ukrainian attack comes after several weeks of relative stagnation in a war that has left thousands dead, displaced millions, destroyed cities and sparked a global food and energy crisis amid unprecedented economic sanctions.
Russian shelling of Mykolaiv left at least two dead, 24 wounded and flattened homes, according to city officials and witnesses.
The conflict, the largest attack on a European state since 1945, had become a war of attrition, mainly in the south and east, marked by artillery bombardment and air raids. Russia captured swaths of southern Ukraine near the Black Sea coast in its initial phase.
Ukraine’s southern command said its soldiers had launched offensive actions in several locations in the south, including the Kherson region, north of the Ukraine peninsula. Crimea annexed by Russia.
Ukraine has attacked more than 10 sites in the last week and “has indisputably weakened the enemy,” according to a spokeswoman who declined to give details of the counteroffensive.
Ukraine has been using sophisticated Western-supplied weapons to attack Russian ammunition depots and wreak havoc on supply lines.
The Russian Defense Ministry said Ukrainian troops had attempted an offensive in the southern regions of Mykolaiv and Kherson, but suffered heavy casualties, according to a report by the RIA news agency. “The enemy’s attempted offensive failed miserably,” the report said.
Reuters was unable to independently verify the battlefield reports.
more bombing
In Mykolaiv, where Russian shelling hit residential areas, a Reuters correspondent said an attack hit a family’s home right next to a school, killing a woman.
Mykolaiv, center of shipbuilding and harbor on the South Bug Riverfacing the Black Sea, has suffered from heavy Russian bombardment throughout the war, but has remained in Ukrainian hands.
Russia claims it is carrying out a “special military operation” in Ukraine to rid it of nationalists and protect Russian-speaking communities. Ukraine and the West describe Russia’s actions as an unprovoked war of aggression.
The world is also struggling to prevent a catastrophe at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhiathe largest nuclear plant in Europe, where both sides have exchanged accusations of bombing in its vicinity.
An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to the facility, seized by Russian forces in March but still run by Ukrainian personnel, was due to arrive in kyiv on Monday and start work in the next few days, Ukraine said.
Led by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, the mission will assess physical damage, assess working conditions and check safety and security systems, the Vienna-based organization said.
Officials based in Russia said on Monday that a Ukrainian missile attack had blown a hole in the roof of a fuel depot at the plant.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had shot down a Ukrainian drone that was trying to attack the compound, according to Russian news agencies. The ministry said there was no serious damage and radiation levels were normal.
Reuters was unable to independently verify either report.
