Ukrainian troops are advancing "step by step" on the southern occupied Black Sea region of Kherson, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, as an official declared the battle had reached a "turning point".
Sergiy Khlan, an aide to the administrative head of Kherson, predicted a victory for Ukrainian forces in the region in the next few weeks.
“We can say that a turning point has occurred on the battlefield,” Mr Khlan said in an interview with Ukrainian TV. “We are switching from defensive to counteroffensive actions.
“We can say that the Kherson region will definitely be liberated by September, and all the occupiers’ plans will fail.”
The strategic port city fell to invading forces in the early days of the invasion and troops also captured surrounding territory.
Russian commanders are facing a dilemma over whether to channel extra resources to the Donbas offensive or galvanise defences in the west of Ukraine, Britain’s Ministry of Defence said on Twitter.
The MoD tweets noted that hundreds of damaged Russian armoured vehicles were piling up as the invasion of Ukraine entered its sixth month.
It said: “Inconclusive fighting continues in both the Donbas and Kherson sectors. Russian commanders continue to face a dilemma; whether to resource the offensive in the east, or to bolster the defence in the west.”
The ministry said that on July 18, British intelligence identified a Russian military vehicle refit and refurbishment plant near Barvinok, in Russia's Belgorod region, only 10 kilometres from the Ukrainian border.
“At least 300 damaged vehicles were present, including main battle tanks, armoured personnel carriers and general support trucks,” the MoD said.
“In addition to its well-documented personnel problems, Russia likely continues to struggle to extract and repair the thousands of combat vehicles which have been damaged in action in Ukraine.”
Ukraine's military said its forces had moved within range of targets in Kherson.
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An elderly couple stands near a damaged school in the city of Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. EPA -
At least one person was killed after shelling hit the school, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said. EPA -
A woman walks past a destroyed market near a railway station in Donetsk. Reuters -
Municipal workers clean a street in Donetsk. Reuters -
A man passes destroyed buildings in the Ukrainian town of Siversk. AFP -
A destroyed school in Siversk. AFP -
A Ukrainian serviceman passes by destroyed buildings in Siversk. AFP -
A woman's home is repaired by volunteers after being destroyed by shelling in the village of Zalissya. AFP -
People fill up water canisters in Mykolaiv, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Grain fields burn on the outskirts of Kurakhove, Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. AP Photo -
The mother of Ukrainian serviceman Abdulkarim Gulamov, who was killed in a fight against Russian troops in Kherson, attends his funeral in Kyiv. Reuters -
People carry pictures of Mr Gulamov at the funeral. Reuters -
Ukrainian service members fire a shell from a M777 Howitzer in Kharkiv. Reuters -
A man walks in front of a damaged school after a missile strike hit the city of Kramatorsk. EPA -
A cyclist rides past burnt cars after a Russian rocket strike in Kharkiv. AFP -
Rescuers and servicemen work at a school building damaged by a Russian military strike in Kramatorsk. Reuters -
Sasha, 12, a refugee from Ukraine at the humanitarian aid centre set up at the Global Expo exhibition hall in Warsaw, Poland. AFP -
Maksym and Andrii, 11-year-old boys, play with plastic guns at a self-made checkpoint along a motorway in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine. AP -
A Ukrainian soldier nicknamed 'Oakland' guards his position at the front line in the Kharkiv region. AP -
Ukrainians look at destroyed Russian military equipment at an outdoor exhibition near the Church of the Three Saints in Kyiv. AFP -
A member of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) militia sits in a makeshift bunker near Avdiivka, in the Donbas region of Ukraine. EPA -
A DPR militia member monitors a section of the road near Avdiivka. EPA -
Ukrainians pass a heavily damaged shopping mall in the city of Kherson. AFP -
The rubble of a house in Moshchun village, about 20 kilometres outside Kyiv. EPA -
A resident helps a firefighter put out a fire after an air strike in the town of Bakhmut, in the breakaway enclave of Donetsk. AFP -
A woman surveys the devastation caused by an air strike in Bakhmut. AFP -
Part of a projectile fire by a rocket launcher lies embedded in a wheat field in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. AFP -
Members of the public look at a Ukrainian tank destroyed in a Russian attack, in Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. EPA -
Burnt out cars destroyed in Russian attacks are piled up in Hostomel. EPA -
Jill Biden, US first lady, left, and US President Joe Biden welcome the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, to the White House. EPA -
Miami District Two commissioner Ken Russell, left, and Miami police chief Manuel Morales with weapons collected in the Guns 4 Ukraine initiative, at Miami City Hall in Florida. Guns bought back by Miami will be delivered to sister city Irpin, near Kyiv. EPA -
A Ukrainian serviceman stands next to a Grad BM-21 multiple rocket launcher at the front line in Donbas, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A woman walks her dog in front of a block of flats hit by shelling in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine. EPA -
A Kramatorsk resident peers out of a window lined with tape to reduce the impact of shattering glass. EPA -
The damaged windows of an apartment, after shells hit a residential area in Kramatorsk. EPA -
Rescuers working on a residential building partially destroyed by missile strike in Bashtanka, Mykolaiv as the Russian war in Ukraine continues. AFP -
An Ukrainian infantry fighting vehicle lies by the roadside, having been destroyed by Russian forces in Ukraine. AFP
President Zelenskyy said the Russians had “tried to gain a foothold” in the region and they had made “false forecasts” about their achievements.
“But how did it help them?” he said. “The Armed Forces of Ukraine are advancing step by step in the region.”
As Ukraine prepares for its national day on July 28, Mr Zelenskyy said: "We will celebrate against all odds because Ukrainians won't be cowed."
On Saturday, UK defence officials reported heavy fighting near Kherson.
As Russian forces continued to make gains in the Donbas, Ukraine’s coal-mining heartland, the Ukrainians carried out strikes on Dnipro River bridges. This tactic is likely part of Kyiv’s plant to loosen Moscow’s grip on the Kherson region.
