Zaporizhzhia village captured and Kherson shelled in mid-June 2023
A look back at two reported developments in southern Ukraine in the days before 22 June 2023.
What was happening on the southern front by 22 June 2023? Reports from the preceding days pointed to heavy fighting in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and continued Russian attacks on civilians in Kherson.
On 18 June 2023, Ukrainian forces captured the front-line village of Piatykhatky in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, as heavy fighting continued. The capture was reported as part of the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Two days earlier, on 16 June 2023, Russian forces attacked Kherson, injuring 23 civilians and damaging infrastructure. The strike was part of the wider bombing of the city recorded across 2022 and 2023.
Together, the reports showed a southern front where Ukrainian forces advanced on one sector while civilians in the regional centre of Kherson remained under fire.
