Ukrainian soldiers began to oust the occupiers from the region at all points of contact with the Mykolaiv region. This information was confirmed by the operational command South. The British Intelligence Agency and the War Research Institute also announced the beginning of active hostilities. Foreign experts believe that if the Ukrainians manage to break through the forces that the Russian Federation has grown in the occupied region, then it is possible to regain their territories by the end of the year.
Events in the south were reported throughout the day. Ukrainians managed to break through several strongholds of the occupiers, as well as to start spreading panic in Russian circles. At the end of the first day of the active combat phase:
- The occupiers left their positions in the north-west of the Kherson region;
- The Ukrainians launched a missile attack on the Antonovskyy bridge, which the Russian invaders tried to use as a point of escape from Ukraine;
- Russia closed the Crimean bridge for entry and began to release people;
- Gauleiter Kherson Stremousov fled to Voronezh;
- The Ukrainian army attacked several Russian ammunition depots in the Kherson region.
In the evening, CNN was informed that the Ukrainian armed forces had managed to liberate 4 settlements. The president of Ukraine also made a statement. He said that Ukraine will liberate the territories of the Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kharkiv regions and the Crimea, the Black Sea, and the Azov Sea.
"If they want to survive — it's time for the Russian military to flee," said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
In the morning, the Ukrainian media reported a shooting near Kherson, it is assumed that street fighting has begun. Also, in the morning, the car of the state traffic safety inspectorate of the occupier's duty chief Sneshyn was blown up. According to preliminary information, everyone survived.
In just one day, Ukrainian forces showed the occupiers what is the rest in Kherson and for whom it is intended.
