New Delhi: Russian troops have surrounded south Ukraine’s strategic city Kherson, reports said Wednesday.
Kherson Mayor Igor Kolykhayev said the Russian military had formed a blockade around the city. Video footage showed tanks patrolling the area in this city near Moscow-controlled Crimea, the Euro Weekly News reported.
An important port on the Black Sea – situated on the Dnieper River – Kherson is home to a population of 280,000 and has a major ship-building industry.
Kolykhayev said the Russians had set up roadblocks at the entrances to the city, adding defiantly, “Kherson has been and will stay Ukrainian”.
Reuters also reported that Russian forces had entered Kherson.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, however, denied that the entire city had fallen to Russians.
A ministry spokesperson said, “According to the info from our brigade the battles are going on now… The city is not captured totally, some parts are under our control.”
Two days ago, Russian news agency TASS reported that Kherson, and another city Berdyansk, had been blocked. It quoted defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov as saying: “Over the past day, the cities of Kherson and Berdyansk were completely blocked by the Russian armed forces. The city of Genichevsk and the Kherson airport were also taken under control.”
Meanwhile, the second round of talks between Ukrainian and Russian delegations will take place in Belarus today. The first round two days ago had made little progress.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Russia should stop bombing Ukrainian cities before “meaningful talks on a ceasefire” could start.
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