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Russians preparing renewed attack on Zelenskyy’s home town, Ukrainians warn

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is getting personal — again.

Ukrainian officials said Wednesday they are seeing signs Russia’s invading forces are creating a “strike force” for a renewed push on Kryvyi Rih, the industrial heartland city that also happens to be the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Ukraine’s southern military command described on social media a fierce battle for the military initiative in the region, with Ukrainian forces attempting a major counteroffensive in the region around the Black Sea city of Kherson, where occupying Russian forces have been largely cut off from reinforcements.

The Ukrainian dispatch said the Russian army appeared to be assembling a new force for a counterstrike in the region, with Kryvyi Rih, a major industrial and steel-producing city, the prime target just 30 miles behind the current Ukrainian defensive line in the south.