Russia-Ukraine war: Russian troops capture Ukraine's military base in Kherson region

Hours after a partial ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine failed, Russian troops seized control of a military base near the captured city of Kherson, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Releasing video footage of the seized base, the ministry revealed that Ukrainian soldiers left in a hurry leaving ammunition behind. The Ukrainian military base is situated in the Radensk region of Kherson Oblast.

“Russian servicemen took control of a Ukrainian armed forces’ military base near the village of Radensk in the Kherson Region," the ministry said in a tweet. "The Ukrainian military left their positions in a hurry, leaving the base with equipment, weapons and ammunition,” it added.

The Ukrainian base was most certainly used for training marines, sappers, signalmen, tankers and artillerymen, according to TASS News Agency. In the aftermath of the takeover, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that they have received over 4,500 thousand tons of ammunition, rocket shells for multiple launch rocket systems, as well as mortar ammunition and high-explosive fragmentation shells from the base. In Addition, they also recovered Ukrainian T-64 and T-80 tanks, armoured personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, Ural vehicles, and ammunition depot including mines and mortars.

In the wee hours of Saturday, Moscow declared a partial ceasefire and also announced a route to allow citizens to escape. But hours later, the ceasefire was broken as Russian took over several Ukrainian towns and shot down four Su-27 Jets, Interfax news agency reported. Since the start of the conflict on February 24, Russian forces have obliterated 69 aircraft on the ground and 21 in air, according to a report by TASS News Agency.

Russian invasion

Following months of military buildup, Russia launched an offensive against ex-Soviet satellite state Ukraine on February 24. As Russian troops continue to close on capital Kyiv, they bombarded Europe’s largest nuclear plant early Friday in the battle for control of a crucial energy-producing city, and the power station was on fire. As the war continued for the ninth day on Saturday, Russian troops successfully captured the Ukrainian city of Kherson - a provincial capital located on the southern front of Ukraine. More than 2000 civilians have lost their lives since the invasion began, as per Ukrainian authorities. In addendum, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have claimed to kill 9,166 Russian troops since the invasion began. 

(Image: AP)