Ukraine regains Kherson villages from Russians - BBC

Ukrainian forces have liberated a key village in the southern region of Kherson, hastening another Russian military retreat.

The defence ministry in Kyiv posted a video showing the 35th marine brigade hoisting a Ukrainian flag above Davydiv Brid, amid reports of several other nearby villages being recaptured.

In the past 48 hours, Ukrainian forces have pushed south along the west bank of the river, and Russian units have now been forced to pull back from several settlements in the north of Kherson region too.

Mr Zelensky said Ukrainian forces had made "fast, powerful movements" in southern Ukraine and liberated "dozens of settlements" this week alone.

Ukraine's deputy interior minister Yevhen Enin said 50 towns and villages had been recaptured and some 3,500 citizens freed in Kherson, but did not say over what period.

The defence ministry said later that Russian forces were demoralised and trying to destroy bridges in an attempt to slow down the Ukrainian advance.

But on maps used to illustrate Russian control, it was clear that it no longer included the villages of Arkhanhelske and Velyka Oleksandrivka in the north-east of the region, and of Dudchany on the bank of the Dnieper.

Ukrainian forces have targeted Russian supply lines in the Kherson area for weeks, destroying the few bridges across the river.

Kherson was swiftly captured by Russian forces at the start of the war, as they poured into the region from the Crimean peninsula, annexed in 2014.

The town is part of Donetsk but is seen as the gateway to Luhansk, a region under almost complete Russian occupation.

The BBC's Orla Guerin, reporting from Lyman, said few civilians remained there now, while the bodies of several Russian soldiers lay in their uniforms outside the town.

The BBC’s Abdujalil Abdurasulov reports from Ukrainian front line positions in the Kherson region.

On the front line with Ukrainian troops in Kherson.

Video, 00:02:23On the front line with Ukrainian troops in Kherson