'The Russians know how to fight,' says Maj. Roman Kovalev. 'They learn fast. They're not the same forces as they were in the spring. It is hard to fight them.'
Ukrainian artillery unit members turn back to their position after firing toward Kherson on Friday.
Kovalev is leading a newly reconfigured 500-person battalion to the front lines as early as next week. "They're changing their tactics," he says."They're moving more cautiously, trying to take our land one piece at a time."Oleksandr Musienko, a military expert based in Kyiv, says there is a lot at stake in Kherson. For the Ukrainians, taking back this regional capital would be huge for morale — and a strategic win. It would also set the stage to take back parts of the neighboring Zaporizhzhia region, including a nuclear power plant that the Russians control.
But as eager as the Ukrainians are to take it back, Havrysh knows the Russians won't give up control without a bitter fight.Moscow-appointed officials in Kherson have begun fleeing to Russia Stremousov is trying to paint a picture that the Russians are holding the Ukrainians at bay. Meanwhile, the Moscow-appointed city officials are fleeing into Russia.A man enters an apartment block in Zaporizhzhia on Friday that was destroyed after being hit by a Russian missile.