The Ukrainian army has launched a strong counteroffensive against the invading Russian troops in the occupied south, seeking to retake Kherson, a city of 280,000 inhabitants occupied by the Russian troops in the early days of the invasion. The Ukrainian military are already speaking about the withdrawal of a unit of pro-Russian separatist fighters from the region. Russia says, however, that it rejected the Ukrainian attempts to advance into Kherson and Mykolaiv, with a Russian defence ministry statement saying the counteroffensive failed and the Ukrainians suffered heavy losses.
Eugen Cojocariu, Radio Romania International
