Russian missiles hit Kyiv, Chernihiv regions as Ukraine launches Kherson counteroffensive
Russian forces have launched massive missile strikes on Ukraine's Kyiv and Chernihiv regions, areas that haven't been targeted in weeks.
Kyiv regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram that a settlement in the Vyshgorod district of the region was hit by missiles targeting civilian infrastructure early on Thursday morning. It was not immediately clear if there were any casualties.
Chernihiv governor Vyacheslav Chaus reported at the same time that multiple missiles were fired from the territory of Belarus at the Honcharivska community.
Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv and Chernihiv regions months ago, failing to capture either.
The renewed strikes on the areas come a day after the leader of pro-Kremlin separatists in the east, Denis Pushilin, publicly called on the Russian forces to "liberate Russian cities founded by the Russian people — Kyiv, Chernihiv, Poltava, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lutsk."
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, also came under a barrage of shelling overnight, its mayor Ihor Terekhov said. The southern city of Mykolaiv was fired at as well, with one person sustaining injuries.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military continued to counterattack in the occupied southern region of Kherson, striking a key bridge over the Dnieper River on Wednesday.
Ukrainian media on Thursday quoted Ukraine's presidential adviser, Oleksiy Arestovich, as saying that the operation to liberate Kherson "has already begun".
Arestovich said Kyiv's forces were planning to isolate Russian troops there and leave them with three options — to "retreat, if possible, surrender or be destroyed".
Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov said in televised remarks on Wednesday he
Read more on euronews.com
