The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that the Ukrainian forces succeeded in establishing positions along the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in the past few days in a sign that the Russian forces are losing their defensive positions in the south.
The Washington, D.C.-based research organization said Russian military bloggers were able to provide geo-located footage and reports to confirm the presence of the Ukrainian military on the other side of the natural border as of Saturday. Kherson Oblast, in the south of the country, is located above the Crimean Peninsula and has been largely under Russian control since the early stages of the war.
The development comes as Western analysts have long suspected that Ukraine will launch a spring offensive on Russia’s defensive positions, which were entrenched over the winter as the war approaches its first year of fighting. In late 2022, Ukraine managed to take back the city of Kherson, which it heralded as a major victory and left Russia without any of the major cities in the country.
The ISW was unable to confirm the size or intentions of the landings, which appear to have taken place north of Oleshky, a town opposite Kherson on the other side of the Dnipro River.
Video recording on April 18 shows Ukrainian amphibious vehicles landing on the eastern bank of the river, forming a bridgehead. Bridges across the river had previously been destroyed as Ukraine sought to cut off Russian supply lines to Kherson.
This is a developing story. More updates to follow.
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