Russia has claimed Ukrainian forces were unsuccessful in an attempt to recapture the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine.
“After shelling the city, a landing attempt was launched, including an attempt to seize Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
“The battle went on for several hours, at least three to three and a half hours,” RIA quoted Russian-installed official Vladimir Rogov as saying, adding that the attack was “repelled”.
Reuters was not able to independently verify the report.
Elsewhere, the new Russian commander in Ukraine has given a rare acknowledgement of Vladimir Putin‘s troops being under pressure amid a sustained Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“The situation in the area of the ‘Special Military Operation’ can be described as tense,” Sergei Surovikin, the Russian air force general now commanding Moscow’s invasion forces, told state-owned Rossiya 24.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in his nighttime address said that Russia purchasing drones from Iran is a sign of Moscow’s “military and political bankruptcy”.
Moscow has also been bombarding Ukrainian cities, particularly apartment blocks, with Iranian-made drones.
