Ukraine: Massive attacks in Herson and Sumi; Wagner group leaves Bahmut, hundreds of thousands of South Korean artillery shells are on their way to Ukraine
The shelling continues unabated in southern and eastern Ukraine. The Sumi region has been attacked more than 80 times, with damage to five villages and two people injured. The Herson region was also shelled. More than 60 air and artillery strikes damaged several residential houses and a gas pipeline here.
"There was no noise, nothing. Maybe a drone flew over, it was quiet - and at one point, an explosion! The shower broke, this fence toppled over. The barn was smashed. Slate flew off the house. For security reasons, we covered the window with the door," says one local.
"The village of Kozatske was bombed in the morning, unfortunately a woman died. In the afternoon, around three o'clock, Kozatske was again shelled with mortars, a woman and a man were injured there. The village of Mihailivka was also subjected to artillery fire, while the local council building, school and cultural centre were damaged. In total, five people were injured, two of them died," said Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, head of the press office.
Meanwhile, the Wagner mercenary group is leaving Bahmutul, the head of the group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced on his Telegram page. He admitted that although his men are strong fighters, the Ukrainian army has been fighting a fierce battle in Bahmut, and the group's losses in the besieged city exceed 20,000.
The Ukrainian army needs to strengthen its air defences, and the F-16 aircraft Ukraine is counting on will send a strong signal to Russia that it will not win the war it has started, says President Volodimir Zelenski.
"We are doing everything we can to shorten the time to results, for the appearance of new and powerful planes with Ukrainian pilots in Ukrainian skies. It is clear that this global step will allow us to expand our defence capabilities. Only with powerful aircraft does an air defence system become complete. On the other hand, the first Ukrainian F-16 will be one of the clearest signals in the world that Russia will only lose out to its own aggression and become weaker and more isolated."
Allies continue to deliver aid to Ukraine and more and more countries are announcing their readiness to train Ukrainian pilots. Hundreds of thousands of South Korean artillery shells are on their way to Ukraine, although Seoul initially resisted arming Ukraine. And the European Union is considering offering Kiev €196 billion in Russian assets locked up in the global financial markets.
