Ukrainian forces tightened noose around Russian forces in Kherson, where the fighting was raging.

While Kyiv's fears of an attack coming from the territory of Belarus grow, Washington said it has concluded an Iranian presence on the ground in the Crimea.

Reuters reported that Ukrainian forces are tightening the screws on Russian forces in Kherson, which is the only regional capital captured by Russian forces since the start of the war about 8 months ago.

The administration appointed by Moscow in the city began evacuating it and evacuating thousands of civilians from it, in light of expectations of a major attack from the Ukrainian forces, which are now very close to the city.

Russian state television has broadcast footage of people fleeing by boat across the Dnipro River, in what appears to be a mass exodus.

The Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged that the Ukrainian forces had penetrated the Russian defenses in Kherson, but confirmed that they had repelled the attack and restored the situation to what it was. The spokesman of the Ministry said that the Ukrainian forces had suffered losses on the Kherson axis, as he put it.


danger from the north

In the context of field developments during the last hours as well, concern emerged in Kyiv about the "increasing risk" of a new Russian attack from the northern neighbor of Belarus.

The Ukrainian General Staff said that Russian forces have deployed various aircraft and other units on Belarusian territory, which allow Russian forces to use its territory to launch ballistic missiles and drones.

And last Monday, the Belarusian Ministry of Defense announced that Russia will deploy on its soil about 9 thousand Russian soldiers, 170 tanks, 200 other vehicles, 100 weapons and mortars with a caliber of more than 100 mm.

She added that the Russian units will be deployed in "4 training sites in eastern and central Belarus", where they will participate in exercises that include "combat shooting and launching anti-aircraft missiles."

Note that Moscow and Minsk announced last week the establishment of a joint military force, with the aim of defending Belarus' borders against any Ukrainian threat.


Iranians in Crimea

On the other hand, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday that the United States has concluded that Iranian military personnel are on the ground in Crimea to help the Russian military operate drones provided by Tehran to launch strikes across Ukraine.

"We can confirm that Russian military personnel stationed in Crimea are directing and using Iranian drones to launch strikes across Ukraine, including raids in Kyiv in recent days," Price added, during a regular press briefing.

"Our assessment is that ... there are Iranian military personnel on the ground in Crimea, assisting Russia in operations," he said.

US officials had previously revealed that Russia had received Iranian Mohajer 6, Shahid 129 and Shahid 191 unmanned aircraft last August, which Iran constantly denies.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian refuted this information, saying that his country has "defense cooperation with Russia, but it is not our policy to send weapons and marches to be used against Ukraine."

Zelensky warns Europeans of waves of (European) immigration

Zelensky warns

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia is attacking Ukrainian power stations with the aim of forcing people to leave their homes and head west to the European Union.

He said earlier this week that Russia has already destroyed about a third of the country's power plants, causing power and water cuts as winter approaches.

The United Nations says that 7.7 million Ukrainians - roughly 19% of the pre-war population - now live across Europe, after fleeing the aftermath of the war on February 24.