Russia announced on Friday that it was carrying out reinforcements in the annexed Crimean peninsula after its troops in the neighboring Kherson region of Ukraine withdrew in the face of a counterattack from Kyiv.
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• Read more: More than 10 million Ukrainians are without electricity
“Reinforcements are being carried out under my control on the territory of Crimea to guarantee the safety of Crimeans,” said Governor Sergei Aksyonov, installed by Moscow after annexing the Ukrainian peninsula in 2014.
However, he emphasized that the defense of Crimea “mainly through measures to be implemented on the territory of the Kherson region adjacent to the peninsula in southern Ukraine.”
The announcement comes as Russian forces staged a humiliating retreat in the region last week after failing to contain a counterattack by Western-armed Ukrainian soldiers.
The withdrawal of Russian soldiers, who specifically abandoned the regional capital of the same name, helped Kyiv forces bring their guns closer to Crimea, which has been targeted several times in recent months.
In October, the Crimean bridge, which connects the peninsula to Russian territory and is used to resupply troops deployed in Ukraine, was partially destroyed in an attack attributed to Kiev by Moscow that triggered a truck bomb.
Other attacks allegedly by Ukrainian forces have been carried out in Crimea, particularly against the Russian navy in Sevastopol or against several Russian military infrastructure on the peninsula.
Since its annexation in 2014, Moscow has considered Crimea part of its territory, which is not recognized by the international community.
Kyiv has made repeated calls in recent months to reclaim the peninsula.
Kyiv-Kherson railway line
Since the departure of troops from Moscow a week ago to this day, Gerson says he regrets the “atrocities” of the Russian military – including several alleged cases of torture – during the eight months of occupation.
According to Kyrillo Tymoshenko, the president’s vice-president who visited the region, “Russians killed, not only mined, but looted our cities,” he condemned. Capitals are Kiev and Kherson.
“Today we are launching our first train from Kyiv to Kherson,” Ukrsalisnytsia spokeswoman Natalia Durtsak told AFP.
“The departure from the capital is scheduled at 10:14 pm (3:14 pm, Quebec time) and will arrive in Kherson tomorrow at 9:00 am (2 am, Quebec time),” a local official enthused on Facebook. Sergui clan.
“About 200 passengers (…) will travel” on the train “whose” wagons are painted by Ukrainian artists,” he said.
The re-opening of the route is symbolic at this stage as tickets are still not available to buy seats for the next few days.
“Currently, there is only one train. Let’s see if it becomes a regular route of the Ukrainian railway network.me Turchak.
Power outage
Russia has continued repeated bombings targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since October, leaving many of the country’s cities without power and continuing to cut off water.
“Ten million Ukrainians are without electricity,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday evening.
The blackout, which was affected or blocked to avoid overloading the electricity network, greatly disrupted the daily lives of Ukrainians, while the first snow of winter fell on the country on Thursday.
“Several hours of restrictions are in place throughout Ukraine during the day,” national electricity operator Ukrenergo said Friday morning.
For its part, the Russian Defense Ministry insisted on Friday that the attacks targeted military and energy infrastructure and that all targets had been destroyed.
These include, according to the ministry, a missile manufacturing plant and a weapons depot “supplied by Western countries”.
According to the report, the Russian military also claimed to have captured the Obytne region in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
The death toll from Thursday’s Russian bombing in the city of Vilnius in the Zaporozhye region (Middle East) rose from seven to ten, including two children, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office.
