A Ukrainian official on Sunday said that the country's southern region of Kherson, which was captured by Russian troops during their early military operation in February, would be taken back by Kyiv's forces by September.
"We can say that the Kherson region will definitely be liberated by September, and all the occupiers' plans will fail," Serhiy Khlan, an aide to the head of the Kherson region, said in an interview with Ukrainian television.
The Ukrainian army, emboldened by deliveries of Western-supplied long-range artillery has been clawing back territory in the southern Kherson region in recent weeks, Al Jazeera reported.
"We can say that a turning point has occurred on the battlefield. We see that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are prevailing in their most recent military operations," Khlan added.
Meanwhile, over the Odesa attack, the Russian defence ministry said that it had attacked US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles and a military boat in Ukraine. Ironically, earlier Russia denied attacks on the Ukrainian port.
"A docked Ukrainian warship and a warehouse with US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles were destroyed by long-range precision-guided naval missiles in Odesa seaport on the territory of a ship repair plant," Russian news agencies reported quoting the defence ministry.
The attack on the southern port took place on Saturday, a day after a deal was signed to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war, according to Al Jazeera.
Serhii Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa military administration, said two missiles hit the infrastructure of the port and two were shot down by Ukraine's air defence.
At least six explosions were heard in Odesa, according to Ukrainian member of parliament Oleksiy Goncharenko.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenksyy accused Russia of routinely violating agreements after the Odesa attack.
"This proves only one thing: no matter what Russia says and promises, it will find ways not to implement it," Zelenskyy said during a meeting with US lawmakers, according to a statement from the Ukrainian presidency.
The UN and EU also condemned the strike on Odessa, reported France24.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "unequivocally" condemned the attack."The Secretary-General unequivocally condemns reported strikes today in the Ukrainian port of Odesa," his deputy spokesman Farhan Haq says in a statement.
"Full implementation (of the deal) by the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Turkey are imperative," Haq adds.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell slams what he called Russia's "reprehensible" missile attack.
On February 24, Russia began a special military operation in Ukraine after the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics requested help in defending themselves. The Russian Defense Ministry said the special operation is targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure only and the civilian population is not in danger.
( With inputs from ANI )
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