Regaining ground on the Southern Front

June / July 2022

A girl watches and army truck pass by across a bridge over the river. She ahs just been swimming to cool of from summer.

- Kherson & Mykolaiv -

In the early days of the invasion, Russian troops captured several cities in Southern Ukraine, including Melitopol and Kherson, pushing Ukrainian troops back to the city of Mykolaiv and ultimately succeeded in occupying a small part of Mykolaiv Oblast. Russian forces occupied Kherson Oblast, the authorities reportedly erected a statue of Vladimir Lenin in the town square, introduced Russian curriculum to the local school system, rerouted internet servers to Russia, issued Russian passports, and began circulating the Ruble.

Emergency services near an apartment building in Mykolaiv after a Russian missile attack - near body bags, a man is calling on the phone.
Aftermath of a Russian missile attack on an apartment building, 29 June - 2022.
Evacuation of wounded people by emergency services from an apartment building in Mykolaiv after a Russian missile attack, 29 June - 2022.

By June 1st, The Institute for the Study of War assessed that Ukrainian counterattacks in Kherson Oblast had successfully disrupted Russian ground lines of communication along the Inhulets river. Throughout June, small parts of northwestern Kherson and northern Zaporizhzhia oblasts were regained by Ukrainian forces. However, the main line of Russian defenses did not retreat as initially planned.

Ukranian Grad artillery (multiple rocket launcher) firing missiles - in a field for agriculture and farming - on Russian targets for defense operations of the 59th Brigade.
Member of Ukrainian Military unit in front of a map of the region in an underground shelter on the frontline near Kherson.
Evacuation of a wounded soldier by Ukrainian military on the Kherson frontline.
Evacuation of a wounded soldier by Ukrainian military on the Kherson frontline.

Before 9 July, Ukraine had conducted numerous small counterattacks on Russian forces, pushing them into defensive positions.

A girl in a dress fetches potable, drinking water.

By 25 July, the region's military governor claimed that Ukraine had retaken 44 towns and villages, or 15 percent of the region's territory.

A destroyed apartment buidling, a ricket or missile left a big hole.

Source: 2022 Kherson counteroffensive, April 19th 2023, Wikipedia.

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