During the combat in the southern city of Kherson, the Ukrainian military claimed to have destroyed the command center of Russia’s 49th Army.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s intelligence service stated on April 23 that the operation was carried out after the Ukrainian army discovered the command center of the Russian 49th Combined Army near a region where the fighting between the two armies was taking place. According to the agency, the target was hit when two Russian generals were at their command post in Kherson. According to Oleksiy Arestovych, a presidential adviser in Ukraine, about 50 Russian officers were gathered at the command post when it was destroyed. “Their fate is unknown,” Mr. Arestovych said.
The Ukrainian military later stated that two Russian generals were killed and one was badly injured in the operation on the Russian command post, but did not specify the weapon used.
In response to the Ukrainian information, Russia has made no statement.
While battle rages in the east, Russian soldiers are reinforcing their military presence at captured positions in southern Ukraine. After initiating a special military operation in Ukraine, Russia took Kherson, the first significant city.
Kherson is located in the northern section of the Crimean peninsula and plays an important role in the governance of southern Ukraine. This is a vital link in Russia’s supply line across the Crimean peninsula, allowing it to transport guns and heavy equipment by train into southern Ukraine. Russia aims to stage a plebiscite in Kherson to turn the city into a breakaway territory, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Zelensky encouraged residents of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces not to give Russian military personal information, claiming that Moscow will use it to stage a referendum.
Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24 in order to “demilitarise and de-fascistize Ukraine.” The Russian Defense Ministry declared the demolition of a foreign weapons storage in Odessa, Ukraine, on April 23. Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, accused Russia of bombing a target in Odessa in order to “sow panic” among the people.
