Ukraine’s foray across the Dnipro was reported by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) on Saturday night.
Citing reports and “reliable geolocated imagery” from Russian military bloggers, the US think tank said that “Ukrainian forces have established positions on the Dnipro River bank north of Oleshky (7 km southwest of Kherson City) and … west of Dachi (10 km south of Kherson City).”
The ISW added that “Russian forces may not control islands in the Kinka and Chaika rivers less than half a kilometre north of the geolocated Ukrainian positions near the Antonivsky Bridge.”
According to Russian military bloggers, Ukrainian forces have maintained positions on the east bank of the Dnipro in Kherson province “for weeks,” establishing “stable supply lines to these positions,” and also “regularly conduct sorties in the area,” the ISW said.
The US think tank assessed that all these developments suggest “a lack of Russian control over the area.”
Ukraine declines to comment on possible advance in Kherson region
Ukraine’s Southern Command spokeswomaon Natalia Humeniuk on Sunday refused to confirm or deny the ISW’s report, asking for “patience” on reports of possible Ukrainian gains on the east bank of the Dnipro in Kherson region, The Kyiv Independent website reported.
Humeniuk told TV channel 24: “There is an ongoing military operation that requires informational silence. When it is allowed we will be sure to notify you,” as quoted by Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.
Ukrainian progress on southern front?
The ISW’s April 22 report hints at rare recent progress seen on the war’s southern front, according to The Kyiv Independent.
The front line in the Kherson region has remained largely stalled since Ukraine liberated the regional capital Kherson City and areas on the west bank of the Dnipro late last year, the website added.
Kherson City had been the only provincial capital that Russia had captured since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, according to news outlets.
The retreating Russian troops fled to the east bank, using positions there to “shell and shoot at Kherson,” The Guardian reported.
These constant attacks have made it impossible for residents to return to normal life, months after Ukrainian troops liberated the city from Russian occupation, according to The Guardian.
Monday is day 425 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, ISW, The Kyiv Independent, The Guardian, Meduza