Kyiv, Ukraine - Ukrainian forces on Monday pushed their offensive that embarrassed Moscow, as Kyiv officials and foreign observers hinted at new gains in the strategic southern Kherson region that the Kremlin wants to annex. Kherson was one of the toughest battlefields for the Ukrainians, with slower progress compared to the Ukrainian offensive around the country's second-largest city, Kharkiv, in the northeast, which began last month.

Kherson is one of the four regions that Moscow illegally annexed last week following a "referendum" organized by the Kremlin. The Kremlin-controlled lower house of parliament ratified the treaties on Monday, to be followed by the upper house on Tuesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the Donetsk and Luhansk regions are joining Russia with their administrative boundaries that existed before the conflict broke out there in 2014 between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces. He indicated that the borders of the other two regions—Zaporizhzhia and Kherson—remain open.

Peskov said in a conference call with reporters, "We will continue to discuss this with the residents of those regions." He did not provide additional details.

Ukrainian media on Monday highlighted an image of Ukrainian forces raising flags at the Kryshivka village sign, which is located in the same Kherson area where forces appeared to have breached Russian lines.

Ukraine has continued its counteroffensive in the Kherson region since summer, relentlessly bombing Russian supply lines and breaking through to areas west of the Dnipro River controlled by Russians.

The Ukrainian army has successfully used U.S.-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to strike the main bridge across the Dnipro River in the city of Kherson and the dam that served as a second main crossing. It also hit the pontoon bridges used by Russia to supply its forces on the river’s western bank after the main crossings became inoperable.

Despite successful strikes on supply lines, Ukrainian offensive operations in the south have so far been slower and less successful compared to the northeast, where open terrain easily exposed the attacking force to Russian artillery and air raids.

Russian military bloggers close to Moscow have increasingly acknowledged that Ukraine has a superior manpower, supported by tank units, in the region.

Russian official in the Kherson region, Kirill Stremousov, acknowledged in a video statement on Monday morning that Ukrainian forces "penetrated slightly deeper." But he insisted that "everything is under control" and that "the Russian defense system is working" in the area.

On Sunday, Russia attacked the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown and other targets with suicide drones, and Ukraine regained full control of a strategic eastern city in a counteroffensive that reshaped the war.

Russia's recent loss of the eastern city of Lyman, which it used as a transportation and logistics hub, was another blow to the Kremlin as it seeks to escalate the war by illegally annexing the four regions in Ukraine and increasing threats of nuclear weapon use.

President Vladimir Putin’s land grabs threatened to push the conflict to a new dangerous level. It also prompted Ukraine to formally apply for fast-track NATO membership.

Zelenskyy discussed in his evening speech on Sunday the recent Lyman liberation operation, a key Russian logistical hub on the frontline in the northeast.

Zelenskyy said, "The story of liberating Lyman in the Donetsk region is now the most popular in the media – but the successes of our soldiers are not limited to Lyman."

Lyman, which Ukraine regained by encircling Russian forces, is located in Donetsk near the border with Luhansk.

Zelenskyy also thanked troops from his hometown near Kherson in his broadcast.

He said, “To the soldiers of the 129th Brigade from my hometown Kryvyi Rih, who distinguished themselves with good results and liberated, in particular, Arkhanhelskyi and Myrolyubivka.”

These two villages are in the same area where Ukrainian forces have been making progress. A photo appeared over the weekend showing the Ukrainian forces' operation southwest of Novovorontsovka on the banks of the Dnipro River.

Ukraine's presidential office said on Monday that Russian shelling of eight Ukrainian regions over the past 24 hours resulted in the deaths of two civilians and injuries to 14 others.

It also reported progress in the Kherson area and said Russian authorities in response prohibited people from leaving the city of Kherson, providing special permits to those who wish to leave.

Since the Russian invasion began in February, Ukrainian forces recently managed to reclaim territories, particularly in the northeast around Kharkiv, in counteroffensives over the past weeks that embarrassed the Kremlin and sparked rare domestic criticism of Putin’s war. Edited by: Yusra Bamtraf