The chopper had mistakenly attacked Russian positions near the village of Olhine in the occupied Kherson region, the Ukrinform news agency reported on Wednesday.
On its way back, the helicopter was shot down by Russian defences. Ukraine’s Operational Command South described the incident, ironically, as “yet another gesture of goodwill by the invaders."
The Ukrainian command was referring to Russia’s claim that it had earlier withdrawn from Snake Island as a “goodwill move,” Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Ukrainian forces reclaim villages in Kherson region
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have carried out four attacks on the Russian army in the Kherson region. They have reclaimed the villages of Andriivka and Lozove, according to Ukrinform.
'Deadlines for capture of additional Ukrainian territory'
At the same time, Russian-backed proxy leadership continued to set deadlines for capturing more of Ukrainian territory, as the Kremlin prepares to annex these areas to Russia, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said.
In its latest analysis of the war in Ukraine, published on Tuesday night, the US-based think tank wrote: “Russian-backed proxy leadership continues to enunciate deadlines for the capture of additional Ukrainian territory, likely to support ongoing preparations for referenda on the annexation of these territories to the Russian Federation.”
For instance, “Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) Deputy Minister of Information Daniil Bezsonov stated on July 25 that the DNR expects to capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast by the end of August,” the US experts said.
They added: “Various Russian and Western sources have previously reported that Russia intends to hold referenda in occupied areas by the first half of September, likely sometime around September 11, which is the unified voting day in the Russian Federation.”
The ISW reported that “proxy leadership and Russian-backed occupation authorities are likely pushing for deadlines for military objectives to support condition setting for expedited annexation objectives, although Russian forces remain unlikely to occupy significant additional territory in Ukraine before the early autumn annexation timeline.”
Fighting in Donetsk region
Meanwhile, as fighting continued in the Donetsk region, “Russian forces gained marginal ground northeast of Bakhmut" and were "continuing to fight east and south of Bakhmut,” the US analysts wrote.
At the same time, “Russian forces conducted a limited attack northwest of Izyum, likely to secure Russian rear areas on the Izyum-Slovyansk line,” according to the think tank.
Moreover, Russian forces "conducted limited attacks southwest of Donetsk City near the Zaporizhia Oblast border,” the ISW said.
Ukrainian forces strike Russian logistics nodes
In southern Ukraine, Russian forces "focused on defending occupied lines and conducted a limited ground assault in northwestern Kherson Oblast,” the US experts noted.
They added: “Ukrainian forces continued to strike Russian logistics nodes in Kherson Oblast.”
In other developments, “Ukrainian intelligence leaks continue to reveal the Kremlin’s annexation agendas for occupied Ukraine by way of falsified referenda,” the ISW reported.
Wednesday is day 154 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, ukrinform.net, understandingwar.org