Russia claims control of southern Ukrainian city of Kherson
Al JazeeraDefence ministry says talks are under way between Russian army and local authorities on maintaining order. “The Russian divisions of the armed forces have taken the regional centre of Kherson under full control,” defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in televised remarks on Wednesday. Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, said there are reports of “Russian soldiers being seen on the streets of Kherson”. Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, also reporting from Lviv, said there appears to be a “pattern of Russian attacks aimed at depriving Ukraine of access to its Black Sea coast”. “The Russians are said to be in control of Kherson and are also encircling Mariupol, a much bigger port city down on the Black Sea coast between Crimea and the breakaway regions,” he said, citing the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine.