Ukrainian forces claim to have broken through Russian defenses amid a new counter-offensive in Kherson region. Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said that Ukrainian forces were shelling ferries used by the Russian forces to supply a section of Russian-occupied territory on the west bank of Dnieper River in Kherson region. Russian forces have staved off Ukrainian attacks in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions in Southern Ukraine, Russia’s Ministry of Defense claims. “Does anyone want to know what our plans are? You won’t hear specifics from a truly responsible person. Because this is war”, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said during his nightly address.

Meanwhile, Ukraine announced the start of a long-awaited counteroffensive to retake territory in the south seized by Russian forces, Reuters reported. The spokeswoman for the southern military command, Nataliya Gumenyuk, said that Ukraine had begun “offensive actions in many directions in the south”.

The International Atomic Energy Agency team led by Director General Rafael Grossi has arrived in Ukraine and is on its way to Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The inspection is expected to start on Wednesday and end on Saturday. The IAEA mission will help ensure nuclear safety and security at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and undertake vital safeguards activities. “But without exaggeration, This mission will be the hardest in the history of IAEA, given the active combat activities undertaken by the Russian Federation of the ground and also the very blatant way in which Russia is trying to legitimize its presence at Zaporizhzhia NPP”, Ukraine’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba said.