Ukraine announces a major advance of its forces on the bank of the Dnipro River
Ukraine announced Sunday that it had moved the Russian army “three to eight kilometers” from the left bank of the Dnipro River, which is controlled by Russia, in the first numerical estimates of its forces’ advance in this region in months. of a counterattack that did not achieve the desired results. This coincided with Kiev and Moscow, in the night between Saturday and Sunday, attacked by drones, the air defenses shot down a large number of them, without recording casualties.
Natalia Gumenyuk, spokeswoman for the Ukrainian army’s Southern Command, told Ukrainian television: “Initial estimates indicate between three and eight kilometers, depending on the characteristics, geography and topography of the left bank” of the Dnipro River. If this information is confirmed, it will be the Ukrainian army’s largest advance against the Russians for several months.
But Gumeniuk did not clarify whether Ukrainian forces now fully control this area in the Kherson region (south) or whether the Russian army has retreated in the face of attacks by Ukrainian forces. He said that “the enemy continues artillery bombardment on the right bank” and estimated that the number of Russian soldiers present in this area is “tens of thousands”. It was not possible to verify this information from independent sources.
The counterattack, which began in June and was relied on by Kiev and its Western allies, allowed the Ukrainian army to recapture only a small number of villages in the south and east. But on Friday Kiev announced control of sites on the left bank of the Dnipro River, while acknowledging that “the fighting is fierce” and facing “fierce resistance” from Russia. This is the first success announced by the Ukrainians in their counterattack since they took control of the village of Robotinh in the southern Zaporizhya region in August.
Kiev hoped that control of its two robots would allow it to penetrate Russian lines and liberate occupied areas, but the Ukrainian army was unable to do so in the face of the firepower of Russian defenses. Controlling positions deep in the left bank of the Dnipro River would allow Ukrainian forces to carry out a broader attack southward. Achieving this requires Ukraine to be able to deploy large numbers of soldiers, vehicles and equipment in an area that is difficult to reach due to its sandy and swampy nature. For more than a year, Ukrainian and Russian forces have been barricaded on both banks of the river in the Kherson region (south), after Russia withdrew its forces from the West Bank in November 2022.
Despite Kiev’s announcement of this breakthrough, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klimenko announced that five people, including a three-year-old girl, were injured in a Russian artillery shelling of Kherson (south) on Sunday morning. He added via the Telegram application: “They were all injured by the shrapnel.” The little girl and her grandmother were walking in the courtyard. Enemy artillery hit them near the entrance.”
Twists Kiev and Moscow
At the same time, explosive drone attacks, which have characterized the war in Ukraine, have increased in recent days. During the night between Saturday and Sunday, Kiev and Moscow were subjected to drone attacks, with air defenses shooting down a large number of them, without recording any casualties, according to the authorities of the two countries. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that a drone “was intercepted by air defense assets (…) on the territory of the Bogorodsk region of the Moscow region.”
Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russian territory were repeated in the spring, as part of the counterattack that Kiev began in June, but have become rare in recent weeks.
Kiev, for its part, was also the subject, for the second consecutive night, of a series of attacks launched by Iranian-made explosive “Shahed” drones launched by the Russian army, according to local authorities who spoke of an “intensification” of the attacks on the Ukrainian capital. The Ukrainian General Staff confirmed in a separate statement that “15 of 20 enemy drones were destroyed.”
This comes a day after the Ukrainian Air Force announced it had shot down 29 of 38 drones launched by Russia in a night strike that was the largest since late September.
Russia began carrying out attacks against Ukraine’s energy, military and transportation infrastructure in October 2022, six months after Russian forces failed to control the capital and retreated into eastern and southern Ukraine. Last winter, Russia fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Ukraine, depriving millions of people of electricity, heat and water during the coldest months of the year, before easing attacks in the summer. After a 52-day pause, Moscow resumed airstrikes on Kiev this month. Ukrainian officials said on Saturday that all drones heading towards Kiev had been destroyed, but some had hit infrastructure facilities elsewhere in Ukraine.
Warning against attacks on energy facilities
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Saturday evening that Russia will likely intensify its aerial bombardment of Ukrainian energy-related infrastructure before winter. In his daily speech he said: “The closer we get to winter, the more the Russians try to intensify their attacks,” calling on his army to be “100% effective, despite all the difficulties and exhaustion.”
Return of Soviet reconnaissance aircraft to service
In related context, a British Ministry of Defense intelligence assessment of developments in the war in Ukraine said on Sunday that Russia is likely to consider returning the Soviet-era M-55 high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft (MYSTIC B) back in service..
The daily intelligence assessment published on platform “X” (formerly Twitter) stated that, with an operational altitude of more than 70,000 feet, the aircraft has recently been used as a platform for earth science research. However, it was noted that it was carrying a military reconnaissance capsule, developed for use in Russian fighter aircraft. The assessment indicated that one of the serious flaws of the Russian procurement strategy was the failure to provide sufficient intelligence, surveillance, target identification and reconnaissance capabilities.
According to the assessment, this is crucial for the accurate and timely pursuit of objectives by air, sea and land forces. There is a realistic possibility that the M-55 aircraft will return to front-line service, in order to enhance Russia’s limited intelligence, surveillance, target identification and reconnaissance capabilities over Ukraine. High altitude operation allows the sensors to operate over a long range.
The British Ministry of Defense has published a daily update on the war, since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Moscow accuses London of launching a disinformation campaign about the war.