New orders: Invade - There will be a million of them

New orders: Invade - There will be a million of them

In his interview with The Times, the Minister revealed that Zelensky ordered the Ukrainian army to re-establish control over the occupied coastal areas, vital to the country's economy, reports Interfax Ukraine.

Reznikov specified that Zelensky ordered the military leadership to draw up appropriate plans, after which the General Staff will decide what is needed to achieve that goal, and initiate a new tranche of help from partner countries.

According to him, there are now about 700,000 people in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and if the National Guard, police, and border guards are added to that, there will be about a million of them.

Reznikov added that the recent withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Severodonetsk and Lysichansk were tactical losses needed to save lives, not strategic defeats.

"Emergency evacuation" was ordered

Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk called on civilians to urgently leave the southern province of Kherson, which was occupied by Russian forces.

According to her statement, the Ukrainian army is planning a counter-offensive.

Ukraine lost most of the Black Sea province, as well as the city of the same name, during the first weeks of the Russian invasion that began on February 24.

"It is clear that there will be fighting, shelling... and that is why we call on people to evacuate immediately," Irina Vereshchuk told national television.

She added that she could not say when the counteroffensive would begin.

"I'm sure there will be women and children there and they must not be used as human shields," she said.

Moscow announces a referendum on joining Russia

The government established by Moscow in that province has announced that it will hold a referendum on joining Russia, without any official information on the referendum date.

The Kremlin emphasizes that the decision on the future of the region should be made by its residents. The region also includes the city of Kherson, which before the war had almost 300,000 inhabitants, with an unknown number of those who remained there.