News Desk :
Ukraine says it has retaken 30 towns and villages near Kyiv, pro-Ukraine protest violently dispersed in occupied town of Enerhodar, say local officials
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said retreating Russian troops are leaving behind land mines creating a “catastrophic” situation.
He said there are “noticeable” signs of a Russian withdrawal from the north of Ukraine, but says more battles are ahead in the east, reports news agencies.
The Red Cross is to make a new attempt to evacuate Ukrainian civilians from the besieged city of Mariupol, after a convoy was forced to turn back on Friday.
The United Nations’ humanitarian chief will travel to Moscow on Sunday and then to Kyiv to discuss ceasefire efforts, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.
‘Heavy battles’ ahead in south and east, says Ukraine
Heavy battles are coming up in Ukraine’s eastern and southern regions and for the besieged city of Mariupol in particular, the Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych has said.
Speaking on national television, Arestovych said Ukrainian troops around Kyiv had retaken more than 30 towns or villages in the region and were holding the front line against Russian forces in the east.
“Let us have no illusions – there are still heavy battles ahead for the south, for Mariupol, for the east of Ukraine,” he said.
A Ukrainian official has accused Russian forces of opening fire on peaceful demonstrators, injuring four with “severe burns”, in the southern city of Enerhodar occupied by Moscow’s forces, AFP reports.
Russian troops took control of Enerhodar, the site of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, in early March.
“Today in Enerhodar, city residents gathered again for a rally in support of Ukraine, singing the anthem,” Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said on Telegram.
“The occupiers used light and noise grenades and opened mortar fire on the residents, four people were injured and severely burned,” she said.
Chernihiv governor Viacheslav Chaus has also accused Russian troops of planting mines as they drew back from positions around the regional capital.
“There are a lot of mines. They (the villages) are strewn with them,” he said on national television. Russia’s defence ministry has yet to comment on the allegations, Reuters reports.
