Russian bombing as news of Ukrainian forces crossing the Dnipro River | News of the war between Russia and Ukraine

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A Russian official installed denied reports that Kiev forces had taken up positions on the eastern bank of the river.

Russia bombed the southern Ukrainian cities of Kherson and Breslavl, destroying about 30 buildings and injuring civilians. Ukrainian advances were reported in the Kherson region on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River (called the Dnieper River in Russia), which is controlled by Russian forces.

The American Institute for the Study of War said Sunday that published geographic data and reports by Russian military bloggers indicated that Ukrainian forces had taken up positions on the eastern bank of the river.

However, the extent and goals of these Ukrainian successes, which were recorded for the first time, were not clear, according to the US-based think tank.

Russian military forces withdrew from the regional capital, also called Kherson, and from the western bank of the Dnipro in the region during a Ukrainian offensive late last year.

Natalia Homenyuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine’s Southern Command, did not confirm, nor deny the riverbank advance report, which she told Ukrainian television foreshadowed “very strong shelling” in areas around the West Bank cities of Kherson and Preslav.

“In response to such information, the enemy has greatly intensified its attacks on the opposite bank,” it said, referring to the reported crossing of the river. She said civilians were injured and about 30 buildings were destroyed, including a school.

It also called for “informational silence” to ensure operational security.

“I want everyone to understand that it is very difficult to get around such an obstacle as, for example, the Dnipro, when the front line stretches along such a wide and powerful river,” she said.

“It is necessary to gather some patience.”

The Dnipro River has for months marked the line of contact in the Kherson region, with its capital regularly bombarded by Russian forces stationed on the other side of the river.

Ukrainian forces have reportedly established a foothold near the town of Oleshki across the Dnipro River delta from Kherson, and the Institute for the Study of War said they are also closing in on the nearby village of Dachi. The think tank cited data from Russian military bloggers for this assessment.

The head of the Kherson region installed by the Kremlin denied that Ukrainian forces had established a foothold on the eastern bank of the river.

Vladimir Saldo said on messaging app Telegram that Russian forces are “in complete control” of the area, and speculated that the photos referenced by the Institute for the Study of War may have depicted Ukrainian sabotage units “managing to take a selfie” across the Dnipro before being forced back.

Analysts widely believe that if Ukraine goes ahead with its spring counteroffensive, the main objective will be to break through the land corridor that Russia managed to seize early in the war between its territory and annexed Crimea. Such an operation required crossing the Dnipro River.

The Antonevsky Road Bridge was the main crossing point over the Dnipro River in Kherson, Ukraine. The bridge was destroyed by the retreating Russian forces in November 2022 [File: Bernat Armangue/AP]According to military bloggers cited by the ISW, Ukrainian forces have been operating on the east bank for weeks and have established positions west of the Antonivsky Bridge where they have established “stable supply lines”. One blogger claimed that Russian forces control an area 1.5 kilometers (just under a mile) behind the bridge, but Ukrainian forces control the rest, according to ISW.

Fighting for more than a year after the Russian invasion has become a war of attrition with neither side able to gain momentum. The fiercest fighting took place in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia is struggling to encircle the city of Bakhmut in the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said on Sunday that Russian forces had captured two more neighborhoods in the western part of Bakhmut, without providing details or clarifying which areas are still in Ukrainian hands.

Ukraine recently received advanced weaponry from its Western allies and newly trained soldiers in the West, which has led to growing expectations of a counteroffensive in the coming months.

US-made Patriot missiles arrived in Ukraine last week, and Ukrainian military spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said in a TV report that some of them have already entered service on the battlefield.

Russia is also expected to launch more intense offensives in the spring, but the Institute for the Study of War reports that top Russian defense figures are showing signs that they may push to consolidate existing gains in Ukraine rather than costly new operations such as in Moscow. Struggling with supplies of both materials and manpower.

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