Ukraine is training units to force the Dnieper.
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It is reported by the Washington Post. According to the publication, training takes place twice a week using boats and pontoon bridges. It is also reported that Kyiv began to build barges to transport heavy weapons.
Every night in southern Ukraine, in the Kherson region, soldiers board small boats to cross the Dnieper and bring the battle closer to the Russian enemy. The stretched waterway with Russian and Ukrainian troops located on opposite banks is the most unshakable front of the war, an obstacle to the transport of troops and supplies. But as Kyiv prepares for a long-awaited counteroffensive, an attack on the east bank of the river could be the only place the Russians could be caught off guard, the paper wrote in a May 19 long report from Ukraine.
General Mikhail Drapatiy, Commander of the operational grouping of the troops of the Kherson region, spoke with American journalists. He recalled that in the history of wars and military art there are many examples of overcoming a water obstacle – a river or sea landing.
Certain conditions are being created to ensure that the Dnieper barrier not only hinders us, but also helps us to fulfill our task. If there are appropriate conditions, we will move forward,” said Drapatiy.
Intrigues over where the Ukrainian counterattack will take place in the coming weeks center around the Zaporozhye region, where Ukrainian forces, by land assault, are likely to try to drive the Russian occupiers out of the city of Melitopol and break the so-called land bridge connecting Crimea. where Russia has several strategic military bases.
Ukraine can also continue the counterattack in the east, where it has won victories around the city of Bakhmut, which has been under siege for a long time.
These scenarios are more likely, but the Ukrainians were also quietly testing their ability to cross the Dnieper and training units on how to make a possible river landing.
Ukraine used surprise tactics to its advantage during a massive, rapid counter-offensive in the fall of 2022. As now in the Kherson region, the Russians left the weakest grouping of forces at that time in the Kharkiv region, hoping that the Ukrainians would advance somewhere.
WP writes that an attack across the river could be just as unexpected and also bring great territorial gains. There are about 40,000 Russian soldiers on the eastern bank of the river in the Kherson region, Drapatiy said.
Restoring control there would likewise disrupt the land corridor and station Ukrainian forces near the border with Crimea, a goal of Kyiv, which has promised to retake the Russian-occupied peninsula.
According to Drapatiy, Ukrainian special forces have already been transferred to the eastern bank of the river for raid operations along the coast, but the Ukrainians do not yet have stable footholds. Russian positions are located about 5 km from the river bank. Therefore, the Ukrainians need to push them back at least another 10 km in order to bring Kherson, located on the western side, beyond the artillery zone.
By active actions in those areas, we are trying not only to show our presence, but also to make the enemy nervous,” Drapatiy said.
Russian troops retreated from the western bank of the Dnieper in November as Ukrainian troops entered the strike zone over bridge crossings, threatening to trap occupying troops who could not reach their strongholds from the other side. The Russians decided to withdraw their forces to the east bank and blow up any bridges beyond them. This left the Ukrainians with no obvious way to continue the assault.
Now artillery shells and drones loaded with explosives fly across the river every day, the battle moves to a distance, and Ukrainian paratroopers train twice a week to cross the Dnieper both on boats and along a pontoon-bridge track, Drapatiy said. Ukraine also began building barges that could be used to transport heavy weapons across the river.
I may be an optimist, but I believe that the time will come when we will need to improve the logistics, Drapatiy said.
We will not be able to resolve the issue with one or two or three pontoon bridges, so we will involve everything in our power, including army aviation, and we are working on this issue and preparing.
Challenges remain: the Ukrainians do not yet have a bridgehead, and any attempt to create one will immediately become the target of Russian artillery.
Ukraine is training units to force the Dnieper.
It is reported by the Washington Post. According to the publication, training takes place twice a week using boats and pontoon bridges. It is also reported that Kyiv began to build barges to transport heavy weapons.
Every night in southern Ukraine, in the Kherson region, soldiers board small boats to cross the Dnieper and bring the battle closer to the Russian enemy. The stretched waterway with Russian and Ukrainian troops located on opposite banks is the most unshakable front of the war, an obstacle to the transport of troops and supplies. But as Kyiv prepares for a long-awaited counteroffensive, an attack on the east bank of the river could be the only place the Russians could be caught off guard, the paper wrote in a May 19 long report from Ukraine.
General Mikhail Drapatiy, Commander of the operational grouping of the troops of the Kherson region, spoke with American journalists. He recalled that in the history of wars and military art there are many examples of overcoming a water obstacle – a river or sea landing.
Certain conditions are being created to ensure that the Dnieper barrier not only hinders us, but also helps us to fulfill our task. If there are appropriate conditions, we will move forward,” said Drapatiy.
Intrigues over where the Ukrainian counterattack will take place in the coming weeks center around the Zaporozhye region, where Ukrainian forces, by land assault, are likely to try to drive the Russian occupiers out of the city of Melitopol and break the so-called land bridge connecting Crimea. where Russia has several strategic military bases.
Ukraine can also continue the counterattack in the east, where it has won victories around the city of Bakhmut, which has been under siege for a long time.
These scenarios are more likely, but the Ukrainians were also quietly testing their ability to cross the Dnieper and training units on how to make a possible river landing.
Ukraine used surprise tactics to its advantage during a massive, rapid counter-offensive in the fall of 2022. As now in the Kherson region, the Russians left the weakest grouping of forces at that time in the Kharkiv region, hoping that the Ukrainians would advance somewhere.
WP writes that an attack across the river could be just as unexpected and also bring great territorial gains. There are about 40,000 Russian soldiers on the eastern bank of the river in the Kherson region, Drapatiy said.
Restoring control there would likewise disrupt the land corridor and station Ukrainian forces near the border with Crimea, a goal of Kyiv, which has promised to retake the Russian-occupied peninsula.
According to Drapatiy, Ukrainian special forces have already been transferred to the eastern bank of the river for raid operations along the coast, but the Ukrainians do not yet have stable footholds. Russian positions are located about 5 km from the river bank. Therefore, the Ukrainians need to push them back at least another 10 km in order to bring Kherson, located on the western side, beyond the artillery zone.
By active actions in those areas, we are trying not only to show our presence, but also to make the enemy nervous,” Drapatiy said.
Russian troops retreated from the western bank of the Dnieper in November as Ukrainian troops entered the strike zone over bridge crossings, threatening to trap occupying troops who could not reach their strongholds from the other side. The Russians decided to withdraw their forces to the east bank and blow up any bridges beyond them. This left the Ukrainians with no obvious way to continue the assault.
Now artillery shells and drones loaded with explosives fly across the river every day, the battle moves to a distance, and Ukrainian paratroopers train twice a week to cross the Dnieper both on boats and along the pontoon-bridge track, Drapatiy said. Ukraine also began building barges that could be used to transport heavy weapons across the river.
I may be an optimist, but I believe that the time will come when we will need to improve the logistics, Drapatiy said.
We will not be able to resolve the issue with one or two or three pontoon bridges, so we will involve everything in our power, including army aviation, and we are working on this issue and preparing.
Challenges remain: the Ukrainians do not yet have a foothold, and any attempt to create one will immediately become the target of Russian artillery.
Source: Racurs
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.