In a Facebook statement, Russia's defense ministry said its forces had taken Kherson's city center "under full control" and added that "civil infrastructure, life support facilities for population and urban transport operate on a daily basis." He added that the city "does not experience shortages in food and essential goods."
Russia's claim has not been independently verified. Ukrainian officials said that even though the city of 300,000 people located northwest of Crimea was surrounded, the battle for it continued.
"It's hard to call this morning good, but let's try," Kherson Mayor Ihor Kolykhaev said, according to an NBC News translation. Kolykhaev said he was in city hall when the building was shelled by Russian forces but that everyone inside the building was alive. It was a different story outside.
