mykolaiv ukrainekyiv ukrainian troops bolstered by steppedup western military aid launched a longawaited counteroffensive to retake territory in the south on monday as russian forces shelled residential areas of the black sea port city of mykolaivmoscow acknowledged a new offensive had been launched but said it had failed and the ukrainians had suffered significant casualtiesbut a ukrainian barrage of rockets left the russianoccupied town of nova kakhovka without water or power officials at the russianappointed local authority told ria news agencyukraines new military attack came after several weeks of relative stalemate in a war that has killed thousands displaced millions destroyed cities and caused a global energy and food crisis amid unprecedented economic sanctionsrussian shelling of mykolaiv killed at least two people injured some 24 others and wiped out homes according to city officials and witnessesthe conflict the biggest attack on a european state since 1945 had largely settled into a war of attrition mainly in the south and east marked by artillery bombardments and air strikesrussia captured swathes of ukraines south near the black sea coast in its early phaseukraines southern command said its troops had started offensive actions in several directions in the south including in the kherson region which lies north of the russianannexed crimean peninsulaukraine had struck more than 10 sites in the past week and unquestionably weakened the enemy according to a spokeswoman who declined to give details of the counteroffensive saying russian forces in the south remained quite powerfulukraine has been using sophisticated westernsupplied weapons to hit russian ammunition dumps and wreak havoc with supply linesrussias defence ministry said ukrainian troops had attempted an offensive in the southern mykolaiv and kherson regions but sustained significant casualties ria news agency reportedthe enemys offensive attempt failed miserably it saidreuters could not independently verify the battlefield reportsin mykolaiv where russian shelling hit residential areas a reuters correspondent said a strike hit a family home directly next to a school killing one womanthe owner of the property olexandr shulga told reuters he had lived there his entire life and that his wife who was in a different room when the missile struck died when she was buried in debrisit hit and the shockwave came it destroyed everything he saida shipbuilding centre and port on the southern bug river just off the black sea mykolaiv has suffered heavy russian bombardments throughout the war but remained in ukrainian hands russia says it is waging a special military operation in ukraine to rid it of nationalists and protect russianspeaking communities ukraine and the west describe russias actions as an unprovoked war of aggressionnuclear safetythe world is also scrambling to avoid a disaster at the russianoccupied zaporizhzhia nuclear plant europes largest nuclear plant where both sides have traded accusations of shelling in its vicinitya mission from the international atomic energy agency iaea to the facility captured by russian forces in march but still run by ukrainian staff was due to arrive in kyiv on monday and start work in the