Ukraine's military says it hit Kherson airport

Ukraine's military said it hit the airport on Tuesday. Satellite photos taken afterward by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press show helicopters and vehicles on fire at the air base.

Ukrainian military forces have dealt a punishing blow to the airport in Kherson, which Russian troops had seized early in the war, the General Staff said late Wednesday. It said the Russians were trying to remove any surviving military equipment.

This Maxar satellite image taken and released on March 16, 2022 shows a Russian ground forces deployment near the runway at Kherson Airfield, Kherson, Ukraine. (Maxar Technologies / AFP)

Ukraine's military said it hit the airport on Tuesday. Satellite photos taken afterward by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press show helicopters and vehicles on fire at the air base.

Russia seized the southern port city without a fight in the first days of the war. Control over Kherson allows Russia to restore fresh water supplies to Crimea; Ukraine cut off the water after Russia annexed the peninsula in 2014.

The General Staff said Russia's ground offensive on major Ukrainian cities has largely stalled.