1. Ukrainian forces approach Kherson
Russian and Ukrainian troops are preparing for a major battle over the strategic southern city of Kherson, the centre of one of four regions Russian President Vladimir Putin has illegally annexed and subjected to martial law.
Fighting and evacuations were reported in the Kherson region on Thursday as Moscow tried to pound Ukraine into submission with more missile and drone attacks on critical infrastructure.
Putin declared martial law on the annexed regions of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia on Wednesday, in an attempt to assert Russian authority, amid battlefield setbacks, a troubled troop mobilisation, increasing criticism at home and abroad, and international sanctions.
The unsettled status of the annexed territories was visible in the Kherson region’s capital, where Russian military officials have replaced Kremlin-installed civilian leaders as part of martial law measures.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces mounted 15 attacks on Russian military strongholds in the Kherson region.
As many as 2,000 Russian draftees have entered the Kherson region “to replenish losses and strengthen units on the front line,” according to Ukraine’s Army General Staff.
Russia’s Defence Ministry spokesman said Kremlin forces repelled Ukrainian attempts to advance with tanks on the Kherson villages of Sukhanove, Nova Kamianka and Chervonyi Yar.
Russia’s new military commander in Ukraine this week acknowledged the threat posed by Ukraine’s counteroffensive to Kherson.
General Sergei Surovikin claimed that Ukrainian forces were using HIMARS rockets to strike the city, adding that “as a whole the situation in the [war] zone can be described as tense.”
UK Defence Ministry said on Thursday that Russian authorities are considering “a major withdrawal of their forces” from all areas west of the Dnipro river.
2. Russia resumes ‘evacuations’ from Kherson
Russian-installed officials have urged residents in Kherson to “evacuate”, both for their safety and to allow the military to fortify.
Kremlin-backed governor Vladimir Saldo said authorities were moving civilians to “keep people safe” and allow the military to “act resolutely”.
Others have claimed these “evacuations” of Ukrainian civilians to Russian-controlled territories are forced or that people have no alternative route to safety.
Officials said some 15,000 residents had been relocated from the city and surrounding areas as of Thursday.
Kherson city, with a pre-war population of around 284,000, was one of the first urban areas Russia captured when it invaded Ukraine, and it remains the largest city it holds.
It is a prime target for both sides because of its key industries and major river port.
Reports of sabotage and assassinations of Moscow-backed officials in Kherson have surfaced for months in what appeared to be one of the most active Ukrainian resistance movements in occupied territory.
Moscow’s plans are to move approximately 10,000 people over the course of six days.
3. EU agrees to increase its financial support to Ukraine
European Union leaders approved a plan to provide Ukraine with €18 billion in financial support over the next year.
This comes after Zelenskyy’s warnings that Russia is trying to spark a refugee exodus by destroying Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
As a result of the plan, the 27-nation bloc would now match US financial support for the war-torn Eastern European country.
“Ukraine is telling us that they need approximately €3-4 billion per month to have enough resources for the basics,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.
That figure would be met in equal part by the EU and the US, with additional money coming from international financial institutions, she said.
“It is very important to Ukraine to have a predictable and stable flow of income,” von der Leyen told reporters.
She said the EU is looking to provide about €1.5 billion each month, describing it as a funding amount that would be “stable and reliable.”
The bloc’s finance ministers have been tasked with coming up with a system for pulling together the money, which would come on top of the €9 billion in macro-financing support that the EU is already sending.
4. Zelenskyy urges West to pressure Russia into not destroying dam
Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the West to warn Russia not to blow up a huge dam that would flood a large part of southern Ukraine, as his forces prepare to push Moscow’s troops from Kherson in one of the war’s most important battles.
In a television address, the Ukrainian president said Russian forces had planted explosives inside the huge Nova Kakhovka dam, which holds back an enormous reservoir, dominating much of southern Ukraine.
A Russian-installed official in the region, Vladimir Leontyev, said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces had launched five missile strikes against the dam and hydroelectric power station about 70 kilometres from Kherson city.
He said on Russian TV that if the facilities were destroyed, a critical canal providing water to annexed Crimea would be cut off.
Zelenskyy has claimed Russia mined the dam and power station, with plans to blow them up in what he called a terrorist act.
The Ukrainian president warned this could unleash 18 million cubic metres of water, flooding Kherson and dozens of areas where hundreds of thousands of people live. He told the European Council Russia would then try to blame Ukraine.
5. Putin fires rifle as he inspects mobilisation training ground
Putin on Thursday inspected a training ground for mobilised troops and was shown firing a sniper rifle in footage that supposedly intended to show his personal support for Russian soldiers heading to Ukraine.
The Russian president visited the centre, located southeast of Moscow, along with defence minister Sergei Shoigu.
Footage from the event shows a figure who appeared to be Putin lying flat on the ground and firing a rifle.
In the next frame, he could be seen dusting down his overcoat, slapping a soldier on the shoulder and wishing him good luck.
The visit came a day after Putin declared martial law in the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia.
Conscription efforts thus far have been described as chaotic, with a wide range of mistakes and call-up papers being sent to the wrong individuals.