Ukrainian forces based on the western side of the dnipro river they make frequent raids on the eastern shore near the city of Kherson to try to dislodge Russian troops, a regional official said on Tuesday.
Russian forces have held the eastern side of the Dnipro near Kherson since withdrawing from the southern city in November after months of occupation, but are expected to Ukraine launches a counter-offensive in the spring to try to retake more territory.
Yuriy Sobolevskydeputy head of the Kherson regional administration, said the raids were aimed at reducing the combat capability of Russian troops that have been shelling the city of Kherson since they were forced to withdraw.
“Our army visits the left (east) bank very often, conducting raids. The Ukrainian armed forces are working and working very effectively,” Sobolevskiy told Ukrainian television.
“The results will come as they did on the right bank of the Kherson region when, thanks to a long and complex operation, they were able to liberate our territories with minimal losses for our military. The same is now happening on the left bank. “
Russia seized the Kherson region shortly after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 14 months ago, and has continued to control all of the region’s territory east of the Dnipro ever since.
Military analysts say that Ukraine is likely to launch a counter-offensive soon, and that one of the main objectives could be to break through a southern land corridor between Russia and the region of crimea annexed to Russia. Retaking the entire Kherson region would be an important step towards achieving this goal.
He Institute for the Study of Warbased in USAsaid last week that Russian military bloggers had posted enough geotagged images to confirm that Ukrainian troops had established a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro.
Sobolevskiy did not elaborate, saying that a military operation requires “informative silence.”
According to the ISS, Ukrainian troops may have already crossed to the southern bank of the Dnipro River, although Moscow he has denied it.
It is based on geolocated images offered by Russian war correspondents, who would be located about 7 kilometers from the center of the regional capital.
What is a fact is that Russia has intensified the bombardment of Kherson, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense in its evening report.
Hundreds of shells rained down on the city alone on Sunday, also hit by heavy aircraft bombs, which can hover up to 50 kilometers before hitting their target.
Spokesperson for the Southern Command of the Ukrainian Army, Nataliya Humeniukhinted that the intensification of the attacks is a reaction to reports that Ukrainian soldiers had forced the Dnipro, adding that the Russian forces on the left bank “are not of high quality.”
(With information from Reuters and EFE)
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Source-www.infobae.com