Kremlin proxy concedes Ukraine advance in Kherson

MOSCOW — Russian forces in the Ukrainian region of Kherson, recently annexed by Moscow, have been coming under fierce attack by Kyiv's army in recent days, the Moscow-installed region's governor said in an interview published Tuesday.

Kherson was one of the first Ukrainian regions to fall under Russian control after Moscow attacked in February. It was annexed last week even though Russian forces do not control the entire region.

Observers of the conflict in recent days have said Ukraine's forces are pushing deeper into Russian-controlled territory, particularly in the north of the region on the west bank of the river Dniepr.

The Moscow-installed governor of Kherson Vladimir Saldo said in an interview taken Monday and published on his official channel Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had made gains around the village of Dudchany.

"The breakthrough did not last long. Today, when the aviation began to work, a lot of Ukrainian armored vehicles and personnel were destroyed," he said.

His deputy, Kirill Stremousov, said on social media Tuesday that the Ukrainian advance towards the village had been stopped and that "there is no panic".

The Russian Telegram channel, Rybar, which tracks Russian military in Ukraine, said Kyiv's forces were advancing around Dudchany and another village, Arkhanhelske, with the aim to "cut off supplies from the Russian group on the right bank of the Dniepr."

With a population of one million before the war, Kherson is a key agricultural area and forms the gateway to the Crimean peninsula.

According to Russian news agencies and unconfirmed social media reports, partisans have attacked Russian occupation units and officials, while Ukrainian forces have destroyed river bridges, leaving Russian units at risk of entrapment.

Some 80 percent of the region is estimated to be under Russian control. — Agence France-Presse