Heavy fighting as annexation vote in Ukraine enters final day

KYIV, Ukraine, Sept 27 (Reuters) – Ukrainian and Russian forces have been locked in heavy fighting in completely different elements of Ukraine on Tuesday as Russian-organised referendums in 4 areas Moscow hopes to annex drew to a detailed.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy mentioned the Donetsk area in the east remained his nation’s — and Russia’s — prime strategic precedence, with fighting engulfing a number of cities as Russian troops attempt to advance to the south and west.

There have been additionally clashes in Kharkiv area in the northeast — focus of a Ukrainian counter-offensive this month. And Ukrainian forces pressed on with a marketing campaign to place out of motion 4 bridges and different river crossings to disrupt provide traces to Russian forces in the south.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces southern command mentioned on Tuesday that its counter offensive in Kherson had resulted in enemy losses of 77 servicemen, six tanks, 5 howitzers, three anti-aircraft installations and 14 armoured autos.

Reuters couldn’t instantly confirm battlefield stories.

Moscow hopes to annex the provinces of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, in the east and south, which make up about 15 p.c of Ukraine.

None of the provinces are totally below Moscow’s management and fighting has been below approach alongside the complete entrance line, with Ukrainian forces reporting extra advances since they routed Russian troops in a fifth province, Kharkiv, earlier this month.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has issued a veiled risk to make use of nuclear weapons to guard Russian soil, which would come with the 4 provinces if annexed.

Voting on whether or not to hitch Russia started on Friday in the areas and is because of finish on Tuesday, with the Russian parliament probably approving the annexation inside days.

Kyiv and the West have dismissed the referendums as a sham and pledged to not recognise the outcomes.

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In Russia, the call-up of some 300,000 reservists has led to the primary sustained protests because the invasion started, with one monitoring group estimating a minimum of 2,000 individuals have been arrested to this point. All public criticism of Russia’s “special military operation” is banned.

Flights out of Russia have offered out and automobiles have clogged border checkpoints, with stories of a 48-hour queue on the sole highway border to Georgia, the uncommon pro-Western neighbour that enables Russian residents to enter and not using a visa.

Asked concerning the prospect of the border being shut, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised reporters on Monday: “I don’t know anything about this. At the moment, no decisions have been taken on this.”

Russia counts hundreds of thousands of former conscripts as official reservists. The authorities haven’t spelled out exactly who is because of be known as up, as that a part of Putin’s order is assessed.

The mobilisation has additionally seen the primary sustained criticism of the authorities inside state-controlled media because the struggle started.

But Sergei Tsekov, a senior lawmaker who represents Russian-annexed Crimea in Russia’s higher home of parliament, advised RIA information company: “Everyone who is of conscription age should be banned from travelling abroad in the current situation.”

Two exiled information websites – Meduza and Novaya Gazeta Europe – each reported that the authorities have been planning to ban males from leaving, citing unidentified officers.

Moscow says it desires to rid Ukraine of nationalists and defend Russian-speaking communities. Kyiv and the West describe Russia’s actions as an unprovoked struggle of aggression.

Late on Monday, Zelenskiy described the army scenario in Donetsk as “particularly severe.”

“We are doing everything to contain enemy activity. This is our No. 1 goal right now because Donbas is still the No. 1 goal for the occupiers,” he mentioned, referring to the broader area that encompasses Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russia carried out a minimum of 5 assaults on targets in the Odesa area utilizing Iranian drones in the previous couple of days, based on the regional administration.

Russian missiles hit the airport in Kriviy Rih, Zelenskiy’s residence city in central Ukraine, destroying infrastructure and making the airport unusable, Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of Dnipropetrovsk area, mentioned on Telegram.

More U.S. funding seems to be to be on the best way as negotiators of a stop-gap spending invoice in Congress have agreed to incorporate almost $12 billion in new army and financial assist to Ukraine, based on sources. learn extra

Reporting by Reuters bureaus; Writing by Michael Perry and Costas Pitas; Editing by Shri Navaratnam

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