KYIV: The Ukrainian forces said on Sunday that it had pushed the Russian military back “3 to 8 kilometers” from the banks of the Dnipro River, which if confirmed, would be the first meaningful advance by Kyiv’s forces months into a disappointing counteroffensive.
Ukrainian and Russian forces have been entrenched on opposite sides of the vast waterway in the southern Kherson region for over a year after Moscow withdrew its troops from the western bank last November.
Ukrainian forces have tried multiple times to cross and hold positions on the Russian-controlled side — with authorities in Kyiv finally reporting a “successful” breakthrough last week, according to AFP.
Army spokeswoman Natalia Gumenyuk told Ukrainian media on Sunday that preliminary figures vary from 3 to 8 kilometers, depending on the specifics, landscape design, and geography of the left bank. She did not specify whether Ukraine’s forces had complete control of the area or if the Russians had retreated.
She said that the enemy still continues artillery fire on the right bank. Several tens of thousands of Russian soldiers are in the area.
It comes after Ukraine’s much-awaited counteroffensive launched last June had largely fizzled, with Kyiv retaking just a handful of villages in the south and east. The last major success claimed by Ukraine was the retaking of August Robotyne village in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia.
A bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnipro could allow deeper attacks in the south, though it would require deploying more troops and armor into the challenging marshy region.
Pushing Russian forces back would also offer protection to Ukrainian towns and villages on the river’s western sides that have faced constant shelling over the past year, Ukrainian officials say.
Russian Drone Attacks in Ukraine
A Russian artillery attack on the Kherson city wounded 5 people on Sunday, including a three-year-old child, Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said.
Russia’s defense ministry said Friday it had thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian forces to land on unspecified islands in the river, days after a Russian-installed official in the occupied Kherson region said that Ukraine had managed to hold positions in the village of Krynky on the river’s eastern shores.
