UKRAINE WAR: RUSSIA APPOINTS NEW GENERAL TO COMMAND FORCES

Army General Sergey Surovikin was appointed to lead the joint force group of forces involved in the war in Ukraine by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu on Saturday. According to TASS's citation of Lieutenant General Igor Konashekov of the Russian Defense Ministry, "Army General Sergey Surovikin has been appointed to command the joint group of forces in the area of the special military operation in Ukraine." Earlier, he led Russian forces in Syria while serving as Commander of Russia's Eastern Military District, according to TASS. Notably, Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson territories were recently annexed by Russia.

According to a senior Ukrainian official, the war between Russia and Ukraine has entered a new phase after Kyiv dealt a significant blow to Moscow's grip by recapturing 2,400 square kilometres of territory in the Kherson region in the south of the nation.

Six settlements in the Kherson district and 61 in the Beryslav district, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office, had been liberated. Tymoshenko claimed that despite substantial damage being done to critical infrastructure in places like Arkhanhelske, Vysokopillia, and Osokorivka—all of which suffered weeks of intense fighting and indirect fire—civilians were still being evacuated. Demining is ongoing, he continued.

Since commencing an offensive at the end of last month, Ukrainian forces have been advancing steadily in Kherson, and their successes have provoked rare criticism of Moscow's war effort among pro-Russian figures.

In his evening address on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised his forces' counteroffensive. In his evening address, Zelenskyy stated that the Ukrainian army is making a rather swift and powerful advance in the south of our country during the ongoing defensive operation. "Our warriors do not stop. And it is only a matter of time before we will expel the occupier from all our land," he said.