The head of the regional military administration in Kherson, Ukraine, said Wednesday that his country's forces have regained control of more than 20 residential areas of Russian forces in the region.
Gennady Lagota said Ukrainian forces are continuing to advance and regain control of Kherson, adding that about half of the population has left the territory, the Ukrainian News Agency reported.
He also confirmed that fighting was continuing on the front line in the south of the country, and that the Ukrainian army had launched a counter-offensive in some areas, noting that the Russian army was blowing bridges over the Ingults River.
On Wednesday, Russian forces advanced closer to the center of an industrial city in an effort to control a vast area of eastern Ukraine.
98 days of war
The Ukrainian General Staff said that Russian forces, which began the war 98 days ago, bombed infrastructure in the eastern and southern regions, including the city of Severodonitsk, which russian forces entered on May 27, the main focus of their Russian offensive in the eastern region of Donbass.
Targeting a chemical plant
Local governor Serhiy Jayday said a Russian strike targeted the Azut chemical plant in Severodonitsk on Tuesday, causing a tank containing toxic nitric acid to explode, causing a column of pink smoke to rise and urging residents to stay indoors.
Russia began its military operation in Ukraine on February 24, three months after the start of the war, withdrawing from the vicinity of the capital Kiev to begin a second phase in eastern Ukraine.