Battles are raging between the Ukrainian and Russian forces on both sides of the Dnipro River in Kherson, in the south of the country, as Russian bombing today targeted 23 villages in Kherson, according to the Ukrainian army.
Meanwhile, Russia denied targeting civilian infrastructure in the capital, Kyiv, to which electricity and water supplies have begun to gradually return after major disruptions.
As the battles continued, Mikhail Podlyak, director of the Ukrainian President's Office, announced that this war could not end with a compromise at the expense of Ukrainian lands and the lives of Ukrainians.
He said - in a tweet on Twitter - that Russia must lose on the battlefield, and pay a heavy price for what he called its crimes against humanity.
Ukrainians fill their buckets with water after the water supply was damaged as a result of the bombing (Reuters)
Return of water and electricity supply
Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials announced that they were able to restore the water supply to all districts of the capital, Kyiv, after the missile strikes that targeted the energy infrastructure.
The Ukrainian authorities said that the restoration of electricity supply to all regions of Ukraine is taking place gradually.
The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, said that maintenance teams in the field of Ukrainian energy were able to repair the damage to the water supply lines in the city.
He added that the supply system will take time to operate at full capacity, noting that the maintenance teams are making strenuous efforts to restore electrical energy sources as soon as possible, but that depends on what he called restoring balance in the country's energy system.
The Ukrainian army had announced that Russia had targeted with 67 missiles several energy infrastructure sites across Ukraine, and the water supply had collapsed in the capital, which is inhabited by 3 million people, due to power outages, and the heating system was disrupted in many parts of the city, in addition to electricity, the Internet and mobile phone networks.
Russian exile
For his part, Russia's representative to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzia, said that his country is striking with precision weapons against energy infrastructure that is used for military purposes, and that Ukraine is striking its infrastructure and is trying to accuse Russia of that.
The Russian Ministry of Defense denied that its forces bombed civilian infrastructure in the capital, Kyiv, yesterday, stressing that the destruction of some buildings in residential neighborhoods was the result of missiles fired by air defense systems of the Ukrainian army.
Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov confirmed that the Russian missile strikes targeted the Ukrainian military command and control system, and its associated energy facilities.
A call for the expulsion of Russia from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
On the other hand, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky Thursday called on the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to expel Russia from its ranks, in a video intervention during a session in Warsaw held by the Parliamentary Council of this international organization.
Addressing the parliamentary delegations of the OIC member states, Zelensky said, "We see many international platforms finding the necessary solutions to help stop Russia's terrorism, isolate this terrorist state as much as possible, and search for a solution to the brutal global crises it caused."
The Ukrainian president asked, "Why is the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe not even today one of these platforms? Why exactly is a terrorist state, even after 9 months of continuous crimes, still a member of your parliamentary council?"
Zelensky stressed that "Russia's war against Ukraine is a test for any international organization."
Prisoner exchange
On the other hand, on Thursday, a prisoner exchange operation took place between Ukraine and Russia, which resulted in the release of 50 Ukrainian soldiers and the same number of Russians.
The head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Andrei Yermak, said via the Telegram application that among the released Ukrainians were soldiers who fought at the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, the Chernobyl nuclear plant, and Snake Island.
In the same context, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced - in a statement - the release of 50 Russian soldiers as a result of negotiations with the Ukrainian side.
Yesterday, Wednesday, a prisoner exchange took place between Russia and Ukraine, which resulted in the release of 35 Russian soldiers and 35 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.
South Stream gas
On the other hand, the Russian presidency announced that Moscow and Ankara are studying the possibility of raising the level of protection of the "Southern Stream" gas pipelines from terrorist attacks.
This comes after the Russian Federal State Security Service announced that it had thwarted what it called a Ukrainian attempt to blow up the "Southern Stream" gas pipeline, which transports gas to Turkey and Europe.
The Russian State Security Service indicated the arrest of two Russian citizens involved in preparing and providing resources for the attack, which it described as terrorist. It also indicated that correspondence containing calls with an officer of the special services of Ukraine was revealed, as he put it.