Ukraine stages raids across Dnipro River as counteroffensive looms

On Tuesday, a regional official said Ukrainian forces on the western side of the Dnipro are raiding the eastern bank near Kherson to expel Russian troops.

Since retiring from Kherson in November after months of occupation, Russian forces have held the eastern side of the Dnipro near Kherson. Ukraine is anticipated to undertake a spring counteroffensive to retake further land.

The strikes were meant to weaken Russian soldiers bombarding Kherson city since retreating, according to Kherson regional government deputy director Yuriy Sobolevskiy.

Our military frequently raids the eastern bank. “The Ukrainian armed forces work well,” Sobolevskiy told Ukrainian television.

“The results will come as they did on the right bank of the Kherson region, when a complex and extended operation liberated our territories with minimum military losses. The left bank is experiencing the same.”

Russia has held all of Kherson’s land east of the Dnipro since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 14 months ago.

Military analysts expect Ukraine to undertake a counteroffensive shortly to break through a southern land corridor between Russia and Russia-annexed Crimea. Retaking all of Kherson would help achieve this goal.

The U.S. Institute for the Study of War reported last week that Russian military bloggers had posted enough geolocated film to demonstrate that Ukrainian troops have established a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro.

Sobolevskiy said “informational silence” is needed for military operations.