Ukrainian forces retake dozens of towns in the south, and Washington accuses Moscow of using the Zaporozhye plant as a nuclear shield

The Ukrainian army announced on Tuesday that it had recaptured areas in Kherson Province (southern) from Russian forces, and while Kyiv received new military aid, Washington accused Russian forces of using Ukraine's largest nuclear plant as a nuclear shield.

The Ukrainian army said - in a statement - that it had recaptured more than 50 towns in the vicinity of Kherson that were under the control of Russian forces.

He added that the pace of battles with the Russian side is witnessing a noticeable increase in the south of the country, especially in Mykolaiv and the entire Kherson regions.

He added that his forces repelled Russian counter-attacks on more than one axis between Mykolaiv and Kherson, and destroyed 4 Russian ammunition depots, a military base, anti-aircraft missile complex and self-propelled guns.

For weeks, Ukrainian forces have launched counter-attacks in the countryside of Kherson, which was seized by Russian forces in the early days of the war, which began on February 24.

In recent days, Ukrainian forces have targeted bridges and a railway line across the Dnipro River in order to isolate Russian forces west of the river from supplies in occupied Crimea and in the east.

In the face of Ukrainian pressure, Moscow is working to transfer a large number of its forces from the Donbas region (eastern Ukraine) to the southern fronts, including the Zaporozhye front, according to what Kyiv and British intelligence have confirmed.

military aid

As the battles raged in the south and east, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced that the army had received 4 additional US HIMARS missile launchers.

He added that the launchers will be transferred for use in advanced battlefronts.

For its part, the US administration announced a new military aid package to Ukraine amounting to $550 million.

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the new military aid package includes more ammunition for the HIMARS High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and 155mm artillery systems.

Blinken added that the Ukrainian forces are effectively using these weapons on the battlefield to defend their country.

The US secretary added that the new aid package brings the total US military assistance to Ukraine to about $8.7 billion since President Joe Biden took office in early 2020.

Last March, the Zaporozhye nuclear plant witnessed the firing of shells in its vicinity (Reuters)

nuclear shield

On another topic, the US Secretary of State said that Moscow is acting recklessly towards Ukrainian nuclear facilities that may have unprecedented results, adding that Russia has launched a comprehensive aggression against Ukraine and thus sent the worst message to countries around the world.

And in statements he made - yesterday, Monday - after talks at the United Nations in New York on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, Blinken accused Russia of using the Zaporozhye nuclear plant - Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant - as a "nuclear shield", by deploying forces inside it, which threatens the risk of a nuclear accident. Terrible nuclear accident.

The US Secretary of State expressed his country's grave concern that the Zaporozhye station is now a Russian military base used to fire on nearby Ukrainian forces.

For his part, Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Mykola Tuchitsky said - during the New York talks - that strong joint measures are needed to prevent a nuclear catastrophe.

Tochitsky called on the international community to close the airspace over Ukrainian nuclear power plants with air defense systems.

And last March, Kyiv accused the Russian forces of firing at the Zaporozhye nuclear plant, after an explosion in its vicinity.

Grain Shipping

On the other hand, a senior Turkish official said today, Tuesday, that his country expects that almost one grain ship will leave the Ukrainian ports every day, as long as the agreement guaranteeing safe passage is in place, after the first ship since the start of the war left the port of Odessa (southern Ukraine) on Monday. safely.

Before that, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday expressed his conviction that other ships will continue to transport grain from Ukraine in the coming period.

For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry said today that Moscow is working with the United Nations to remove obstacles to the access of Russian grain and fertilizer to world markets.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was too early to celebrate the re-shipment of grain from his country's ports.

Zelensky saw the return of Odessa port to work as a positive sign of an opportunity to stop the deterioration of the global food crisis, noting that 16 ships are waiting to leave the port, which may contribute to the stability of the global food market.

On Monday, a ship loaded with grain left the port of Odessa, in implementation of the agreement recently concluded in Istanbul between Ukraine and Russia under the auspices of Turkey and the United Nations, in a first step of its kind since the beginning of the war.

This development was widely welcomed internationally, and Moscow described it as positive.

The agreement is valid for a period of 120 days, subject to extension, and allows the export of between 20 and 25 million tons of suspended grain in Ukraine.