The Russian foreign ministry has said it banned 200 US nationals from entering Russia, including the sister and two brothers of US President Joe Biden, in response to personal sanctions from Washington.
It said it has banned entry by Valerie Biden Owens, James Brian Biden and Francis William Biden.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre was also included on the list. Zelenskiy: 'Kherson never gave up on Ukraine'
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has released a statement on his official Telegram account after his troops retook Kherson on Friday.
Zelenskiy said it was a “historic day” and that the people in the southern city “never lost hope”.
He said: “They never gave up on Ukraine. Hope for Ukraine is always justified – and Ukraine always returns its own.”
The president previously shared a video of people celebrating around a fire in Kherson as darkness descended.
The full statement reads:
Today is a historic day. We are returning Kherson. As of now, our defenders are on the approaches to the city. But special units are already in the city.
The people of Kherson were waiting. They never gave up on Ukraine. Hope for Ukraine is always justified – and Ukraine always returns its own.
And even when the city is not yet completely cleansed of the enemy’s presence, the people of Kherson themselves are already removing Russian symbols from the streets and buildings and any traces of the occupiers’ stay in Kherson.
It was the same in all other cities liberated by our defenders. It will be the same in those cities that are still waiting for our return.
Ukraine will come to all its people.
And I thank every soldier and every unit of the defence forces who are making this offensive operation in the south possible now.
Absolutely everyone – from privates to generals.
The armed forces, intelligence, SBU, National Guard – all who brought today’s day closer for Kherson oblast.
New damage has been inflicted on a critical dam that spans the Dnipro River at Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region in the last 24 hours, according to satellite images from Maxar Technologies obtained by CNN.
Water is flowing out of three sluice gates at the dam, where a major hydro-electric project is situated.
It's unclear how the latest damage, which is close to the west bank, was caused. Local Telegram channels reported Thursday night the sound of explosions around the dam.
The sluice gates under the destroyed sections of the bridge are the only ones releasing water, but it's unclear from the satellite images whether they were damaged in the explosion and whether the release of water is controlled or impeded by the collapsed sections of bridge.
A photo, which appeared on social media on Friday afternoon, showed water flowing from the corners of the sluice gates and the missing bridge sections. CNN geolocated and confirmed the authenticity of the photo, which was taken from the southern bank of the Dnipro River.
Although Ukrainian armed forces have liberated large swathes of territory in Kherson, they do not appear they have taken control of the dam at Nova Kakhovka.
Ukrhydroenergo, which operates the hydro-electric plant, said it had not heard of fresh damage to the dam and was unable to offer further comment.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant upstream uses the water in the dam's reservoir to cool its nuclear reactors. The reservoir holds about 18 million cubic meters of water.
On Oct. 21, Ukrainian Defense Intelligence claimed that Russian forces had begun mining the sluice gates and supports at the dam. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also made similar claims in a national speech on Oct. 20.
At the time, Russian-appointed officials in Kherson dismissed the claims as "nonsense."
Kherson is so celebratory today, it brings tears to one's eyes!
The city is so beautiful in blue and yellow colors. People's smiles light everything up!
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