On Tuesday, Russia said it had thwarted Ukraine’s attempts to reach the captured eastern bank of the southern Kherson region, and that Kyiv’s forces had suffered colossal losses.
The Ukrainian army announced last week that it had driven Russian soldiers back three to eight kilometres (two to five miles) from the banks of the Dnipro River, marking their first significant progress in months.
At a roundtable meeting with officials, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu stated, “All attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to conduct a landing operation in the Kherson area have failed”.
“Thanks to the pre-emptive actions of our military… the Ukrainian forces are suffering colossal losses”, Shoigu continued.
However, several pro-Kremlin military bloggers produced stories that contradicted Shoigu’s claims.
Last Monday, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of the Kherson region revealed that dozens of Ukrainian forces had set positions around the little eastern bank village of Krynky.
If confirmed, the achievement would be a significant step forward for Ukraine, which has made numerous attempts to cross the Dnipro River.
Since Moscow’s withdrawal from the western bank in November 2022, the canal has become a de-facto frontier between the two sides.
Crossing it would be the step towards establishing a land bridge to the captured Crimean peninsula.
However, many analysts believe that the territory seized by Ukrainian troops is modest and would be difficult to turn into a real breakthrough.
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