Russian surprise announcement in Kherson as Ukraine advances
Russian plans to hold a referendum in the occupied territory in southern Ukraine have been “halted” for security reasons, according to the TASS agency.
Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian-appointed administration in the Ukrainian province of Kherson, located in the south of the country and partly controlled by Kremlin troops since the beginning of the war, said on Monday that plans to hold a referendum in the territory they have been “paused” for security reasons, according to the TASS agency.
“We have got prepared for voting. We wanted to organize the referendum in the near future, but because of the current developments, I think we will take a pause,” Stremoúsov told Russian public television. “It is quite explainable from the practical point of view.”
The pro-Russian administrator has affirmed that the Antonivskyi bridge that crosses the Dnipro river cannot be crossed by car due to the bombardments launched by Ukrainian troops, who last week began a counteroffensive to regain ground in this area from the country.
According to the government in Kyiv their troops are making strides recapturing occupied territory. Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky has announced that the offensive in the south is making progress. “Ukrainian flags are returning to the places where they should be,” he said after a new meeting with the military, according to Bloomberg. “There is no room for squatters in our country,” he added.
Zelensky highlighted that Ukrainian soldiers have raised the country's flag at a hospital in Visokopillia, west of the Dnipro River, in the Kherson region, an area that has been under Russian control since February. Although they already announced in June the recovery of that town.
Zelensky also mentioned various military units for their advances in different parts of the country: the 63rd Battalion of the 103rd Brigade for “liberating a settlement” in Donetsk; the 54th Brigade, for its “advancements” towards Lisichansk - Siversk and the 42nd Motorized Infantry Battalion for its “heroic actions” that have managed to liberate two towns in the south.
Additionally, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal meeting with offered to export electricity to Germany, who assures that it is “a very good deal for both sides,” he told dpa, the German Press Agency. “We have a sufficient amount of electricity in Ukraine, thanks to our nuclear power plants.”