“Kherson Will be Liberated by End of Year” – Ukrainian Army Major General

On August 10, Major General of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Dmytro Marchenko, said he expects troops to liberate Kherson by the end of the year and that temporarily occupied Crimea will be de-occupied by military means.

Following the liberation of Kherson, Marchenko is of the view that the active phase of the war will end and be replaced by more local military operations.

“[Liberation of] Kherson is 100%”. The liberation of Kherson and the end of the active phase of the war,” Marchenko said. “After that, some more local military actions will take place, but by the end of the year, we [expect to] finish the main phase of this war.”

Ukrainian Operational Command “South” confirmed that the Ukrainian army launched successful strikes on Kakhovka bridge, located in the area of ​​ the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station in the occupied Kherson region. As a result, the bridge is now impossible to use by the Russian occupiers for transferring military equipment.

According to Colonel Vladyslav Nazarov, disabling the Kakhovsky bridge eliminates the enemy’s transport and logistical passageways. As a result, pontoon crossings remain the only viable option for the occupiers to transfer equipment.

Nazarov also notes that the hits were precise, accurate and effective – especially as the bridge is located not far the dam and hydroelectric power plant – and that the Ukrainian army “did not miss a beat.”

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Ukraine’s army is on the backfoot in most parts of the front while Russia presses on with its advantage ahead of the inauguration next month of US president-elect Donald Trump.

This latest move comes after the Ukrainian army partly destroyed the Antonovsky bridge in July, severely hampering the movement of Russian forces.

On August 8 and 9, explosions were recorded at Russian military bases and ammunition warehouses in the south of Ukraine.

Serhii Khlan, an adviser to the head of the Kherson regional military administration, noted that the detonation of shells continued for more than an hour and a half in Novooleksiivka, located approximately 35 kilometers north of the border with Crimea.

The mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, also reported ten explosions at Russian military bases in the western part of Melitopol.

Earlier this week, Russian and Ukrainian sources reported at least 12 explosions at a Russian airbase in occupied Novofedorivka on the western coast of Crimea. Satellite imagery by Planet Labs PBC and published by the BBC appears to show a number of damaged warplanes. Ukrainian officials have not taken responsibility for the attacks on Russian military infrastructure.

The New York Times, referring to its sources in the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, reported that the attack on the Russian air base could have been carried out by the Ukrainian army using the “Grim” operational-tactical missile system developed in Ukraine.