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Ukrainian soldiers near Kyiv
Photo: Emilio Morenatti/AP
According to the Russian military, the southern Ukrainian port of Kherson has been occupied since Wednesday morning: "Russian units of the armed forces have taken complete control of the center of the Kherson region," said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov, according to a statement.
However, only a few hours later, Ukraine denied the Russian claims that the city had been taken.
The advisor to the head of the office in the Ukrainian presidential office, Oleksiy Arestovich, said in the afternoon that the fighting for the provincial capital with around 280,000 inhabitants was still going on: "The city has not fallen, our side continues to defend it," said Arestovich in a live broadcast that posted on the website of the Office of the President.
"The fighting in the streets continues," he said.
The southern port is still being fought for.
'Information that Kherson fell and so on - that's not true.
Our military and local defenders continue resistance in and around the city,” Arestovich said, according to Reuters news agency.
Ukraine: Dead civilians in Kherson
Ukrainian media had previously reported fighting in the city of around 280,000 people.
Interior Ministry adviser Anton Herashchenko spoke of numerous dead civilians who had defended Cherson with so-called Molotov cocktails, among other things.
According to local reports, the city at the mouth of the Dnieper River was surrounded.
The city administration also said that Russian soldiers had taken over the port and the train station.
There have been numerous deaths and injuries among Ukrainian soldiers and civilians.
col/AFP/dpa/Reuters