Ukrainian ‘base’ over Dnipro near Kherson as Zelenskiy says Avdiivka costly to Russian war effort – The Guardian

Ukraine

The presence of Ukrainian troops on the Russian-controlled side of the Dnipro River is recognized for the first time, opening a possible route to Crimea

Employees and agencies

Wed Nov 15, 2023 03:38 GMT

The Ukrainian president’s chief of staff has admitted for the first time that Ukrainian forces have gained a foothold in the Kherson region on the eastern bank of the Dnipro and may be opening a new line of attack towards Crimea.

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A year ago, Russian troops left the western bank of the river and took up positions on the eastern side, from which they regularly shell towns and villages opposite.

Andriy Yermak’s admission that Kiev’s forces were stationed on the eastern bank of the Dnipro followed weeks of conflicting reports.

“Despite all odds, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have gained a foothold on the left [east] Banks of the Dnipro,” Yermak said in an address to the Hudson Institute think tank in the United States. The remarks were published on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s website.

“Step by step they are demilitarizing Crimea,” he added, referring to the peninsula captured by Russia in 2014. “We’re 70% of the way there.” And our counteroffensive is developing.”

Zelensky said on Tuesday that defending the devastated eastern city of Avdiivka was key to Kiev’s war plans, as heavy Russian losses there would likely undermine Moscow’s behavior in the broader conflict.

Moscow’s forces have been focused on eastern Ukraine since they were unable to advance on Kiev in the first days of the invasion in February 2022. They have been targeting Avdiivka since mid-October, and officials in the city, which had a pre-war population of 32,000, say not a single building is still intact.

Zelensky said in his late-night video address that Russian attacks in the eastern Donetsk region, including Avdiivka, had been “very intense.”

“Russia is already losing men and equipment near Avdiivka at a faster rate and to a greater extent than near Bakhmut, for example,” he said, referring to months of heavy fighting that began in May as Russian troops captured the eastern town of Bakhmut culminated.

“It is extremely difficult to withstand their pressure… The more Russian forces are destroyed near Avdiivka, the worse the overall situation for the enemy and the overall course of this war will become.”

Official Russian reports of fighting in the east did not mention Avdiivka, although prominent Russian war blogger Rybar said there had been “some progress” on positions around the city.

Bakhmut is located about 50 km (31 miles) north of Avdiivka, 20 km west of the Russian-controlled regional capital Donetsk.

Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun said the fighting was heaviest south of Avdiivka.

“In the last three days, the occupiers have actively used guided aerial bombs in the Donetsk region, especially near Avdiivka,” Shtupun told national television. He said Ukrainian forces had repelled 18 Russian attacks in the past 24 hours.

As Ukraine’s four-month-long counteroffensive secures increasing successes, Ukrainian officials have been cautious in describing their forces’ activities on the eastern bank.

The Russian military said last week that its forces had foiled a Ukrainian attempt to establish a bridgehead on the eastern bank and on nearby islands, killing about 500 Ukrainian soldiers.

In a highly unusual incident, two Russian state news agencies published warnings on Monday that Moscow would move troops to “more advantageous positions” east of the Dnipro River, only to retract the information minutes later. Russia has sometimes used similar language to describe withdrawals, moving troops to more advantageous positions.

With Portal