CNN
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According to Kiev, some Russian troops are withdrawing from their positions in Ukraine’s southern region of Zaporizhzhia.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said in its daily update on Thursday that Russian units had abandoned the settlements of Mykhailivka, Polohi and Ingenerne, all south of the city of Zaporizhzhya.
The military added that the Kremlin was also preparing to evacuate “employees of the occupation administration” in the region.
Zaporizhzhia has been partially occupied by Russian forces since the beginning of the offensive; In September Moscow illegally declared it and three other Ukrainian regions as Russian territory.
Front lines in the area ran for more than 100 miles across rolling farmland. Geospatial footage posted on Wednesday shows the aftermath of attacks on buildings in Polohi.
On the battlefield, the Ukrainians appear to be repeating the actions they took further south in Kherson, namely the concentration of Russian troops behind deadly bridges, supply hubs and front lines.
Ukrainian forces have pushed into Kherson in recent months and liberated large swaths of the region, including the city of Kherson, after Russian forces retreated east of the Dnipro River last month.
More than 230 Russian soldiers have been injured and ammunition and equipment destroyed in their attacks in about half a dozen locations in recent days, the General Staff said.
CNN is unable to verify the claims made by the general staff.
Powerful explosions have rocked the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in recent weeks, renewing concerns that fighting so close to the facility could lead to a nuclear accident.
On November 20, UN nuclear experts at the plant said more than a dozen explosions were heard in a short period of time. Shelling was observed both near the facility and at the site.
The director general of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, hopes to reach an agreement with Russia and Ukraine on the plant’s safety by the end of the year.
In an interview with Italian newspaper La Repubblica published on Friday, Grossi said: “My commitment is to reach a solution as soon as possible. I hope by the end of the year. I know that President Putin is following the process and I do not rule out another meeting with him soon, with President Zelensky of Ukraine.
The development comes as the Russian military began a census in parts of the occupied territory in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to the Ukrainian mayor-in-exile of the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol.
“For the last few days, the Russians are in chaos. Earlier they were taking the injured out of the hospital. Then they allegedly started a census in the towns of Mykhailivka and Burchak to prepare for the evacuation,” Ivan Fedorov said on national television on Friday. Ukraine’s military also said occupation authorities were conducting a census in Burchak.
Melitopol has been occupied by Russian forces since the early days of the invasion. Analysts have suggested that the next offensive front for the Ukrainians is likely to be a push southward.
The General Staff said Russian forces continued to defend their positions in the Luhansk region, using tanks, mortars and artillery to block the advance of Ukrainian forces.
Russian units also shelled several settlements in the recently liberated parts of Kherson region. But Ukraine’s Brigadier General Oleksiy Khromov claimed last week that Russian forces accidentally fired on his own unit near the village of Sukuri in Kherson, killing 14 soldiers. CNN cannot confirm that claim.
Khromov said that Russian forces had gathered in the Crimean city of Zankhoi, which had “virtually turned into the largest military base in the region … from which Russian occupation troops and weapons and military equipment of the Russian armed forces were transferred.” Redeployed.”
