The Russian Defense Ministry has announced the start of shelling of the areas of Kherson recently vacated by the Army, on the western bank of the Dnieper River, in a series of attacks also confirmed by the Ukrainian security forces, who have reported at least three possible deaths in these operations.
«The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation reports firing on equipment and manpower of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the right bank (the western bank) of the Dnieper,» according to a statement picked up by the Russian agency TASS.
Similarly, the Ukrainian Regional Police in Kherson confirmed a shelling of the town of Berislav, some 60 kilometers north of Kherson city, with heavy artillery, which reportedly left at least three dead.
«Peaceful settlements have come under enemy fire and there are casualties due to the impact of shells, and damaged residential buildings,» according to a Police statement posted on its Facebook website.
These attacks, according to the Police, would have destroyed a grain granary, as well as agricultural machinery, including nine tractors and a combine harvester.
Shortly afterwards, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office confirmed at least three dead people found in a barn with «fractured skulls» who could have been victims of a «possible war crime».
The withdrawal of Russian forces from the Ukrainian region of Kherson was consolidated on Friday after Ukrainian Army troops finally reached the center of the city despite Moscow’s insistence that the area «remains Russian» after the withdrawal from the western bank.
With the Ukrainian flag flying again in one of the city’s main squares, Kiev has perceived the advance of its troops as a victory for the Ukrainian Army, which continues to fight Russian forces in an attempt to reverse the advances of enemy soldiers in areas that have been annexed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
