Ukrainian forces appeared to have launched a surprise raid to land on the east side of the vast Dnipro River, military experts said on Wednesday.
There were reports that up to seven boats, each carrying six to seven soldiers, crossed the river in eastern Ukraine, and they managed to get 800 metres inland.
It was unclear whether they had been repelled to the shoreline, or forced to retreat across the river, after allegedly coming under artillery fire.
Russian troops have built up major defences on the east side of the river, having been forced to withdraw from the city of Kherson last year.
But the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said: “Ukrainian forces appear to have conducted a limited raid across the Dnipro River and landed on the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast (province), although it remains unclear whether Ukrainian troops have established an enduring presence on the east bank.”
Russian military bloggers reported on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces landed up to seven boats, each carrying around six to seven people, on the east bank of the Dnipro near the settlement of Kozachi Laheri, broke through Russian defensive lines, and advanced up to 800 meters deep, the Washington-based think tank added.
Russian defences in the area are believed to have been weakened recently by the replacement of Vladimir Putin’s airborne troops by other units.
The provincial head in the occupied Kherson area, Vladimir Saldo, sought to play down the reported Ukrainian landing, the ISW added, and claimed that Russian artillery fire repelled the Ukrainian advance and Kyiv troops were forced to abandon the area near Kozachi Laheri.
But the think tank stressed: “However, the majority of prominent Russian milbloggers claimed that Ukrainian forces managed to utilise tactical surprise and land on the east bank before engaging Russian forces in small arms exchanges, and Saldo was likely purposefully trying to refute claims of Ukrainian presence in this area to avoid creating panic in the already-delicate Russian information space.”
It added that “hotspots” data suggested there had been “significant combat” in the area including artillery fire.
The ISW continued: “By the end of the day on August 8, many Russian sources had updated their claims to report that Russian forces retain control over Kozachi Laheri, having pushed Ukrainian forces back to the shoreline, and that small arms skirmishes are occurring in shoreline areas near Kozachi Laheri and other east bank settlements.”
