Ukrainian soldiers have set up placements on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in southerly Kherson area, reports claim.
The region is partly Russian-held and also crossing the river could be substantial in future offensives.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War says Russian army blog writers have actually uploaded “enough geolocated video and message records to validate” the breakthrough.
BBC Ukraine states its military sources have actually reported a “particular activity across [the] Dnipro” near Kherson city.
Ukraine’s armed force has not verified the movement, while Russia has denied the records.
However if the records that Ukraine has actually secured a bridgehead on the east bank are right, maybe considerable in helping Kyiv drive Russian soldiers back.
A Ukrainian advance in the area could, in the future, also cut the land passage to Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014.
Nonetheless, military experts say any kind of Ukrainian army motions in the bridgehead location – which is crisscrossed by floodplains, irrigation canals as well as other water challenges – would be a hard job.
As well as Ukrainian advancements would certainly be further made complex by Russia’s considerable benefit in the air.
Ukraine’s armed force has for a long time publicly spoken about preparations for a major counter-offensive, without specifying where and also when it could be released.
Until now, all of the Kherson area on the east bank of the Dnipro has actually been under Russian control, with the vast river working as an all-natural obstacle.
The regional resources – resting on the west bank – was freed by Ukrainian forces last November.
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In Sunday’s report, the Institute for the Research of War (ISW) claimed “geolocated footage published on 23 April shows that Ukrainian pressures are operating in locations north-west of Oleshky on the eastern” financial institution of Dnipro.
The ISW included there was not nearly enough details to analyse the scale of the reported Ukrainian advance – or the further purposes of the Ukrainian armed force.
On Monday, Russia’s WarGonzo army blog owner reported that Ukrainian troops were “attempting to obtain a grip on Bolshoi Potemkin [Velykyi Potyomkin – Ukrainian] island”, which lies in between the new and also old channels of the Dnipro.
Nataliya Humenyuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s South Command, neither confirmed neither refuted records that Ukrainian forces had actually safeguarded a bridgehead on the east bank.
She told Ukraine’s television networks that “challenging work is continuing”.
An army operation calls for “informational silence until it is safe enough for our army”, the spokesperson stressed.
Meanwhile, the Russian-installed head of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, said on Sunday “there were no bridgeheads on the left [eastern] financial institution near Oleshky, or any various other places” on that side of the river.
In different developments on Monday:
- Moscow’s Vnukovo flight terminal was closed for a long time over reports of a recognized drone in the location, Russian media said
- Russia-installed officials in Sevastopol, Crimea, reported a not successful Ukrainian naval drone strike – Kyiv has not commented
- Ukraine’s military stated “the fiercest fights” continued in Bakhmut and Mariinka – two key communities in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk area
Last Updated: 25 April 2023
