Amidst escalating tensions, the latest Russian airstrikes targeting the southern Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson have resulted in the tragic loss of three lives. Overnight attacks have left communities in distress and further strained the ongoing conflict.
Yurii Malashko, the head of the military administration in Zaporizhzhia, reported that a 53-year-old man fell victim to an artillery strike in the area. Additionally, Russia unleashed attacks on a staggering 25 different locations within Zaporizhzhia, causing significant damage to residences and vital infrastructure.
In Kharkiv, another casualty was recorded as a 67-year-old individual suffered wounds during Russian assaults the previous day, according to Oleh Syniehubov, the head of the military administration in the Kharkiv region.
Tragedy also befell the Kherson region, where two civilians lost their lives due to Russian shelling during the same period, as reported by the Kherson city military administration. These acts of violence inflicted damage on Kherson and five additional settlements in the region, as stated in their official statement.
“Occupiers are shelling the Kherson region. There are dead and injured,” remarked Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Region Military Administration.
In another attack targeting southern Ukraine, Russia initiated multiple artillery assaults on the Nikopol region. These attacks resulted in the injury of a 25-year-old man, who has been hospitalized with shrapnel wounds and remains in critical condition. Furthermore, Nikopol faced damage to a department store building and a kindergarten.
In the northeastern part of Ukraine, Russia launched an overnight attack on the Sumy region, firing three times at two communities. Fortunately, the Sumy regional military administration did not receive any reports of injuries resulting from these attacks.
Amid these disturbing developments, Ukrainian troops are intensifying their efforts in Zaporizhzhia, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). They are reported to be making advances in Novoprokopivka, a frontline village located just 1.5 kilometers south of Robotyne. Geolocated combat footage from September 23 indicates clashes between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the northeastern outskirts of Novoprokopivka, suggesting that Ukrainian troops may have cleared Russian positions in the area.
The southern battle zone in Zaporizhzhia is an area where Ukrainian forces are steadily advancing, but they are encountering defensive positions set up by Russian forces.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has dismissed Western nations as an “empire of lies” and expressed skepticism about the United Nations’ latest proposals to revive the Black Sea grain initiative. Lavrov claimed that these proposals failed to fulfill commitments made to Moscow.
These remarks followed a week of intense global diplomacy at the annual United Nations General Assembly, during which Ukraine and its Western allies sought international support in their resistance against Russia’s invasion. In a letter sent to Lavrov the previous month, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres outlined measures aimed at enhancing Russia’s grain and fertilizer exports as part of the Black Sea deal. However, Lavrov dismissed these proposals as unrealistic and reiterated Moscow’s grievances, citing unmet promises, including the removal of sanctions on a Russian bank and its reconnection to the global SWIFT system, as reasons for Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain initiative.
