88 towns and villages in Kherson region recaptured by our military, claims Ukraine

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The Ukrainian government said on Friday that its defence forces were able to recapture 88 towns and villages in the Kherson region. The announcement marked a huge achievement for Ukraine as Kherson was one of the four regions that Russia had “annexed” through the series of referendums.

"Kherson region: 88 settlements de-occupied," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, said on Telegram according to a report by Reuters.

The Ukrainian military was able to de-occupy 551 settlements in the Kharkiv region and as many as 1685 war crimes were registered against the Russian forces.

Tymoshenko took to social media to inform that the government was finally able to provide aid to the people in the Beryslav district and power was restored in several parts of the country.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Russian defence ministry said that a journalist was killed, and 10 others were injured as Ukraine attacked a bridge in the Kherson region on Friday.

"Out of the journalists 10 were injured, one was killed," the statement read according to AFP.

Meanwhile, the European Union will be providing Ukraine with $17.6 million in financial aid over the next year. The announcement was made after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the ongoing crisis can result in a massive economic crisis and refugee exodus in the country.

“Ukraine is telling us that they need approximately 3-4 billion euros per month to have enough resources for the basics,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said.