By Tom Balmforth and Yuliia Dysa
KYIV (Reuters) – Ukrainian troops are trying to push back Russian forces along the Dnipro River in southern Kherson region, the military said on Wednesday, calling for operational “silence” along what it described as a “fairly fluid” front line.
Ukraine said on Tuesday it had secured a foothold on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of the vast river, for the first time confirming an advance that could open a new line of attack towards occupied Crimea.
“Along the front line, which runs along the Dnipro… The pushback from our side is taking place on a line from 3 to 8 km (2-5 miles) along the entire bank from the water’s edge,” Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for the southern military command, said.
“For now, we will ask for informational silence … which would allow us to report later on great successes,” she said in televised comments.
Reuters could not independently verify Kyiv’s account.
A Russian-installed official, Vladimir Saldo, said Moscow’s military had pinned down Ukrainian forces who crossed onto the river’s eastern bank and was raining “Hell fire” on them.
A Ukrainian advance on the Russian-held side of the Dnipro, a formidable natural barrier, would be a big setback for Russia’s occupation troops on the western side of a 1,000 km front line.
COUNTEROFFENSIVE ‘DEVELOPING’
Russia has largely held Kyiv’s counteroffensive at bay in the southeast, but an advance in occupied Kherson region could spread their defences thinner and ratchet up pressure.
“Against all the odds, Ukraine’s defence forces have gained a foothold on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff said on Tuesday.
The official, Andriy Yermak, said that Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which it launched in June, was “developing” and that Kyiv knew “how to achieve victory”.
Russia’s military said last week its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to forge a bridgehead on the eastern bank and nearby islands, inflicting heavy losses.
Yermak made his remarks during a trip to the United States, a key ally of Kyiv that has provided vital military assistance since the February 2022 invasion, although questions now swirl over the sustainability of such aid.
While cautious not to compromise any of its operations, Kyiv has been eager to tout its battlefield successes after the much-vaunted counteroffensive, now more than five months old, has retaken a only series of villages and no big settlements.
Russian troops seized Kherson region in the early days of their invasion, but retreated a year ago from the city of Kherson and other positions on the western side of the river.
This week, in a highly unusual incident, two Russian state news agencies published alerts saying Moscow was moving troops to “more favourable positions” east of the river, language it has used in the past to describe retreats.
The agencies quickly withdrew the news report, which Russia’s defence ministry said was false.
(Reporting by Tom Balmforth and Yuliia Dysa; Additional reporting by Olena Harmash; Editing by Alex Richardson)
