Ukrainian Armed Forces Lead Not by Zelensky, but by Collective West, Kherson Official Says

Kyryl Stremusov, the deputy head of the Kherson region administration, has accused Western countries of deliberately escalating the situation in Ukraine. Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wrote in an article for the Izvestia newspaper that NATO's MLRS artillery systems are apparently directing the actions of Ukrainian military personnel "on the ground" and expressed hope that Europe would understand the consequences this could entail.

"The leader of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is not Zelensky, but the collective West, which decides whether to strike or not," Stremusov told RIA Novosti. According to him, the West is providing maximum support and creating conditions for the conflict to continue.

Ukrainian forces have recently intensified shelling in residential areas of the Kherson region. The most affected area has been the city of Novaya Kakhovka, where American missile strikes have detonated warehouses of saltpeter, destroying residential buildings and markets, damaging a hospital, and resulting in hundreds of casualties.