Russian forces launch a barrage of missiles into northern Ukraine from Belarus | Ukraine

Russian forces launched a barrage of 25 missiles at the northern regions of Ukraine from the vicinity Belarus The southern Ukrainian offensive appears to be on the rise.

The wave of missile strikes launched early in the morning from the territory of Russia’s main ally hit targets in the Chernihiv region, including an apartment building, as well as locations outside Kyiv and around the city of Zhytomyr, according to Ukrainian officials and Belarusian opposition figures.

The governor of the Chernihiv region, Vyacheslav Chaus, She said nine missiles fell Near the village of Honcharivska with some falling into the woods nearby.

The blows came in the form of Ukraine Celebrating State Day for the first time. And in a patriotic message, President Volodymyr Zelensky said: “An anxious morning. Once again – missile terrorism. We will not surrender. We will not surrender. Do not frighten us. Ukraine is an independent, free and indivisible country. And it will always be so. “

Activists who track Russian military movements in Belarus said the missile launches came from Zyabruka airport near Gomel, leading to calls for tougher sanctions against Belarus.

The leader of the Belarusian opposition, Svyatlana Tsykhanoskaya, condemned the recent escalation from Belarus.

“I was horrified to see how Russia continues to use Belarus to attack Ukraine,” she wrote on Twitter. “At least 25 missiles were fired from Belarus targeting Kyiv, Chernihiv and other cities this morning. Lukashenka cannot fool anyone. He is guilty of crimes against Belarusians and Ukrainians and must be held accountable.”

British defense and intelligence officials said on Thursday that the Ukrainian counterattack in the south of the country was practical Cut off the southern city of Kherson occupied by Russia And he left the thousands of Russian troops stationed near the Dnieper River “extremely vulnerable”.

Ukraine has made it clear that it intends to restore Kherson, which fell to Russia in the early days of the invasion, launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin, on February 24.

“The forty-ninth Russian Army, stationed on the western bank of the [Dnieper] “River, now looks very weak,” she said in a regular intelligence bulletin. His loss would severely undermine Russia’s attempts to portray the occupation as a success.

Eyewitness accounts from the southern Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine indicate that Moscow has been trying to move columns of equipment to reinforce its forces there, as well as a marked increase in Russian military flights.

However, it appears that Russia, stretching between its attempts to continue its counterattack in the Donbass and the defense of the south, is deploying poorly trained forces and in some cases vehicles with homemade armor.

Emphasizing the weakness of the Russian forces in and around Kherson, Pictures appeared on social media A ferry is being operated on the Dnieper River to replace the destroyed Antonevsky Bridge – one of the main routes into the city – which was badly damaged by a Ukrainian missile attack early Wednesday.

Earlier, Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, tweeted that Russia was concentrating the “maximum number of troops” in the direction of Kherson, but gave no details.

Oleksiy Aristovich, Zelensky’s adviser, said Russia is conducting a “massive redeployment” of forces from east to south in what amounts to a strategic shift from offensive to defense.

Zelensky said Ukraine would rebuild the Antonevsky Bridge and other crossings in the region.

“We are doing everything we can to ensure that the occupation forces do not have any logistical opportunities in our country,” he said in his speech on Wednesday evening.

Russian officials had previously said they would instead go to bridges and pontoon ferries to ferry troops across the river.

Russia-backed forces said on Wednesday they had captured the Soviet-era Volhersk coal-fired power plant, Ukraine’s second largest, in what marked Moscow’s first major gain in more than three weeks.