11/17/2023 5:28 pm (current 11/17/2023 5:30 pm)
Ukrainian Air Force reports drone shootdowns ©APA/AFP
After the surprising advances of Ukrainian troops through Dnipro, near Kherson, in southern Ukraine, intense fighting in the region continues. As the Ukrainian General Staff announced on Friday, the task of the troops crossing the river was “to carry out diversionary maneuvers, attacks and reconnaissance operations”. Among other things, the supply routes and artillery positions of the Russian military were to be explored.
However, one of the main tasks is to move Russian troops as far as possible from the banks of the Dnipro in order to stop constant Russian attacks on the civilian population on the other side of the river. “The further the Russian artillery is from Kherson, the better,” the Ukrainian General Staff wrote in its Telegram message.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky published several photos on Telegram that allegedly show soldiers crossing the river. “Left Bank near Kherson, our fighters,” commented the President. The Moscow-appointed governor of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, described Zelensky’s post as “pathetic and empty of content.” He also wrote on Telegram that it was actually “an obituary” since most of the Ukrainian soldiers had already been “liquidated.”
The Ukrainian marines had previously reported that they had established several bridgeheads on the left bank of the Dnipro, which was previously controlled by the Russians. Russian military observers have been reporting for weeks about Ukrainian advances in the lower Dnipro.
Ukraine has been defending itself from a Russian invasion with massive Western support for almost 21 months. After successful Ukrainian counterattacks, the Russian army had to withdraw from the northwestern part of the Kherson region behind the Dnipro River more than a year ago. Since then, Dnipro has formed the front line there.