Gulf Today

Ukraine trying to cross Dnipro river, says Russia

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MOSCOW: Russia’s defence ministry on Friday said it had thwarted atempts by Ukrainian troops to establish a foothold on the Russian-controlled bank of the Dnipro river in south Ukraine.

Russian and Ukrainian forces have been standing off on opposite sides of the vast river in the Kherson region for almost a year, following a Russian withdrawal from the river’s right — western — bank last November.

“The enemy conducted a number of unsuccessf­ul atempts to establish a foothold on the islands and let (eastern) bank of the Dnipro river,” Russia’s defence ministry said on Friday in a daily briefing.

However, Russian military bloggers said Ukrainian troops had managed to cross the river and were still in position on the Russian-controlled side.

A video shared on Friday on Telegram by the Wargonzo channel, which is close to Russia’s military, claimed to show Russian forces shelling Ukrainian troops in the darkness as they landed near the village of Krynky. It said fighting in the region was ongoing.

Another post by the Rybar channel — which also has connection­s to Russian forces — said on Thursday evening that Ukrainian troops had managed to strengthen their positions in the village and were continuing to advance on the Russian-controlled side of the river.

AFP was not able to immediatel­y verify the claims. There was no comment from Ukrainian officials on whether troops had crossed the river.

“We can’t comment on this, we are maintainin­g an informatio­nal silence ... in order not to disturb our defence forces,” Yuriy Sobolevsky, first deputy chairman of the Kherson region council, said at a press conference on Friday.

The Institute for the Study of War said on Friday “Ukrainian forces likely maintain a limited presence in some east bank areas near the Dnipro River shoreline.”

Ukrainian troops have made several atempts to cross the Dnipro over the last year, though they have not managed to establish a significan­t foothold in the face of Russian resistance.

Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky was in the Kherson region on Friday for a meeting with the country’s most senior military commanders, his office said.

Zelensky met Ukraine’s top army commander, Valery Zaluzhny, as well as the head of the general staff and marine forces, where the group discussed “the current operations of Ukrainian defenders in the south,” Kyiv said.

Russia’s withdrawal from the western bank of the Dnipro river last November was the last major territoria­l change in the 20-month conflict, which has grinded to a near-stalemate in recent months.

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