Ukrainian forces cross Dnipro river in major tactical advance
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Ukrainian forces have crossed the Dnipro river and established a position on the opposite bank as they push into Russian-occupied territory in southern Ukraine, according to Russian sources.
Pro-Kremlin military bloggers said Kyiv’s troops had created a bridgehead, captured the town of Poima, and were pushing north towards the nearby town of Pishchanivka.
The two towns are south of a destroyed railway bridge and upriver from the Antonivka road crossing, meaning the Ukrainians have to make dangerous, amphibious crossings.
It was claimed that Ukraine, after massing units on the opposite bank, had managed to gain a foothold on the Russian-held side after a sustained campaign of artillery and drone attacks.
Until recently, fighting had almost completely ground to a halt in the Kherson region after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam flooded much of the potential battlefields.
Ukraine has amassed almost 7,000 troops, 46 tanks, 223 armoured vehicles and eight artillery guns in the area now, according to Rochan Consulting’s Ukraine Conflict Monitor.
To mount an assault into Russian-held land, Ukraine would have to carry out amphibious raids across the Dnipro river as all major crossings have been destroyed.
Russian forces carried out airstrikes overnight on targets in eastern, southern and northern Ukraine, Kyiv’s military said on Thursday.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
The air force said 17 different weapons, including ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones, had been used to strike industrial, infrastructure, civilian and military objects, Reuters reports.
Ukrainian forces shot down three drones and one cruise missile, it said.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the EU must collectively continue to financially support Ukraine in future, but the use of additional funds was not a solution long term.
Scholz added “that this cannot all be solved with additional funds”.
