Ukrainian forces have recaptured a village in the east near the city of Lysychansk. This is a small but symbolic victory that means Russia has lost full control over the Luhansk region.
Moscow has condemned new attacks in eastern Ukraine against areas it previously controlled, including Donetsk, where Russian-backed authorities claimed 13 people were killed.
“[In] Kharkiv region – we are holding our positions and stabilizing the situation. Tightly. It is so strong that the occupiers are clearly panicking,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly speech.
Zelensky praised the momentum of the Ukrainian counterattack and warned that the Russian military was facing an ultimatum.
Call for referendum in Donbass
On Monday, the Citizens’ Chambers of the self-proclaimed republics of Luhansk and Donetsk called on the heads of Russia-backed regions to hold a referendum on joining Russia.
Denis Pushrin, head of the Russian installed Donetsk region, also released a video on his telegram channel, showing him talking on the phone with Luhansk’s correspondent, Leonid Pasechnik.
Pushirin proposed to mobilize the administration’s efforts to begin preparations for the referendum.
Andrei Turchak, leader of United Russia, the main political party led by the Kremlin, has proposed that referendums in Donbass and other Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine could be held on November 4, when Russia celebrates National Unity Day. did.
Mykolaiv Nuclear Power Plant
Kyiv, meanwhile, claims that Russian forces carried out a missile strike that narrowly missed the Pivdennu Krainsk nuclear power plant in the Mykolaiv region, about 200 kilometers north of the disputed southern front.
Ukraine’s state-owned nuclear company, Energoatom, said the plant’s three reactors were still operating and no one was injured. About 100 windows at the site were shattered, causing a brief power outage.
