Ukrainian troops strengthen in Kherson, the inclusion of four areas in the lower house of the Kremlin will be signed

Ukrainian troops continued to advance with aggression that forced Moscow to retreat. Kyiv officials and foreign observers gave Ukraine an edge in the strategic southern region of Kherson, which the Kremlin wants to secede from. Kherson has been one of the most difficult battle areas for Ukrainians . Kherson is one of four areas illegally occupied by Moscow last week following a referendum called by the Kremlin. The lower house of the Kremlin-controlled parliament will ratify the treaties on Monday and the upper house the next day. 

Kremlin said, Donetsk and Luhansk are getting involved

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that two of those regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, are joining Russia along their administrative borders. He said that the borders of two other areas, Zaporizhia and Kherson, are still open. We will continue to hold discussions with the residents of those areas. He did not provide additional details. Ukrainian media organizations on Monday showed Ukrainian soldiers displaying flags at a marker in the village of Khreshchenivka, which is in the same area of ​​Kherson where soldiers clashed with Russian troops. 

Ukrainian troops counterattack on Kherson

Ukraine has launched a counter-offensive in the Kherson region since the summer, continuously hurting Russian supply lines and entering areas west of the Dnieper River occupied by the Russians. The Ukrainian military has successfully used several US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers to repeatedly attack the main bridge over the Dnieper in the city of Kherson and the dam that serves as the second main crossing. It also struck pontoon bridges that Russia has used to supply its troops on the west bank of the river and disabled the main crossing. 

Despite successful strikes on supply lines, Ukrainian offensive operations in the south have so far been slower and less successful than in the northeast, as the open area easily visible Ukrainian troops. Russian military bloggers close to Moscow have acknowledged that Ukraine has superior manpower backed by tank units in the area. Kirill Stremousov, a Russian official in the Kherson region, acknowledged in a video statement on Monday morning that Ukrainian forces had come a little deeper. However, he insisted that everything was under control and that Russia's defense system was operating in the region. 

Russian drone strike on Zelensky's hometown

Russia on Sunday attacked Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky's hometown and other targets with suicide drones, and Ukraine launched a retaliatory strike on a strategic eastern city that rekindled the war. The damage occurred in the eastern Russian city of Lyman which it was using as a transportation and logistics hub. It is a new blow to the Kremlin as it seeks to escalate the war by illegally occupying four regions of Ukraine and increasing the threat of nuclear use.