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Ukrainian troops attempted an offensive in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, as a result, the AFU units suffered heavy losses, the Russian Defense Ministry told reporters.

"Today, during the day, on the direct instructions of Zelensky, Ukrainian troops attempted an offensive in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions in three directions. As a result of the active defense of the grouping of Russian troops, the AFU units suffered heavy losses," TASS reports.

The ministry added that "the enemy's losses in manpower amounted to more than 560 servicemen, another attempt at offensive actions of the enemy failed miserably."

According to the Defense Ministry, the Russian Armed Forces destroyed 26 Ukrainian tanks, 23 infantry fighting vehicles, nine other armored combat vehicles, shot down two Su-25 attack aircraft.

Earlier on Monday, Deputy head of the administration of the Kherson region Kirill Stremousov said: the AFU has been shelling several settlements of the Kherson region since Sunday evening. Schools, social infrastructure were destroyed, residential buildings were damaged, the official confirmed. But there is no question of any APU offensive on Kherson, statements in the Ukrainian media - "this is some kind of illusion, a movie," Stremousov pointed out.

As the head of the Kakhovsky district, Vladimir Leontiev, in turn, reported, the AFU inflicted more than 10 missile strikes on Novaya Kakhovka, including residential buildings and schools. Some strikes were carried out from HIMARS, residential buildings and a school were damaged, the head of the district said.

Aviation, missile troops and artillery hit nine control points of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the day, including on the territory of the Mykolaiv region, the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said on Monday.

Addendum 1: here is how CNN reported about this latest disaster "Ukrainian troops took back 4 villages in the south from Russian occupation, military source tells CNN". No, this is no joke, click on the link above and see for yourself.

Addendum 2: Map of the current situation

The Kherson counter-offensive August 29, 2022

Via Gazeta Vzglyad (machine translation)

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has identified a Ukrainian man, named Bogdan Tsiganenko, as an accomplice in the plot to murder Russian journalist and political activist Darya Dugina.

Tsiganenko allegedly helped the primary suspect, Natalya Vovk, obtain a fake Kazakhstani passport and assemble an improvised explosive device, which she later used in the crime, according to the statement.

The suspected 42-year-old bombmaker entered Russia from Estonia in late June and left a day before the bomb attack on August 20, the FSB said on Monday. The IED was made at a rented garage, the agency added. The FSB believes that the two acted together as members of a "Ukrainian sabotage-terrorist group."

The agency released images and footage said to show Tsiganenko traveling with Vovk in her car, receiving falsified car plates for the vehicle, and entering and leaving Russia.

The statement also provided new details about the assassination itself. The FSB released footage showing Vovk surveilling Dugina at a parking lot of the family festival where she presumably planted the bomb. The Ukrainian woman followed her target in her car and set off the explosion, which killed Dugina on the spot, according to the FSB.

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Timeline for UN mission to Zaporozhye nuclear plant revealed

"The day has come, IAEA's Support and Assistance Mission to Zaporozhye (ISAMZ) is now on its way. We must protect the safety and security of Ukraine's and Europe's biggest nuclear facility," he wrote on Twitter, adding that he is "proud to lead this mission," which is set to arrive at the site later this week.

Earlier, Grossi said the goal of the mission is to see what exactly is happening at the plant, assess its integrity, speak to both Russian and Ukrainian staff, and establish a permanent presence on the ground.

On Sunday night, Ukrainian forces shelled Energodar, the city where the plant is located, the local authorities said. According to Evgeny Balitsky, the head of the pro-Russian military-civilian administration, three residential houses were deliberately hit by artillery fire, injuring nine people, with two sustaining heavy wounds.

The city authorities also claimed that the attack was meant to torpedo the IAEA mission. "This provocation by Kiev-controlled militants is aimed at derailing the visit of the IAEA chief to the Zaporozhye NPP," they said.

Exact dates for IAEA mission to 'targeted' nuclear site named - WSJ

"The inspection will begin on Wednesday and last until Saturday," the WSJ reported, citing an internal Ukrainian government document.

According to Morgan Libby, a former IAEA official, the agency's mission may end up being the most important since the 1986 Chernobyl incident. "Everything else pales in comparison," he told the paper.

Moscow urges 'all nations' to pressure Kiev over nuclear site

Making Ukraine cease its attacks on the Russian-controlled Zaporozhye nuclear power plant will require a joint effort from the whole international community, Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov has said.

"We still believe that all countries are obliged to put pressure on the Ukrainian side, so that it stops endangering the European continent by shelling the territory of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant and adjacent areas," Peskov told the media on Monday.

The statement came hours after International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi announced that IAEA experts would visit the nuclear plant this week to assess the security situation and establish a permanent presence at the facility.

"We've been waiting for this mission for a long time. We believe it to be necessary," the Kremlin spokesman said, adding that Moscow was ready to cooperate with the UN atomic agency.

He assured that Russia would provide the necessary security to the IAEA inspectors once they reach the plant from Ukrainian-held territory.

Peskov also commented on a suggestion by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres that the crisis at Europe's largest nuclear power station could be resolved by setting up a demilitarized zone around the perimeter.

"No, there's no talk about it," the Kremlin press secretary said when asked about the proposal.

Russia's Defense Ministry said that a Ukrainian drone was shot down above the Zaporozhye plant on Sunday and that at least eight large-caliber shells were fired at Energodar by Kiev's forces on the same day.