The Ukrainian army announced on Friday that Ukrainian forces conducted a "series of successful operations" on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in the Russian-occupied part of the city of Kherson and established several bridges there. In a statement, the Ukrainian Marine Corps stated on its Facebook page that it is resuming operations on the eastern side of the river. Russia acknowledged for the first time this week that Ukrainian forces crossed the river. The Ukrainian army liberated the city of Kherson and the surrounding area located on the western bank of the Dnipro River last November.
Crossing the Dnipro River and transporting heavy military equipment and supplies for Ukrainian forces would allow for a new wave of attacks in the south on the direct land route to the Crimea Peninsula, which Russia seized and annexed in 2014. Both Russia and Ukraine claim to have inflicted heavy losses on the other side during the operations in the area. Andriy Yermak, the director of the Ukrainian president's office, stated this week that Ukrainian forces were working to "disarm the Crimea Peninsula," adding that they have covered 70 percent of the distance.
According to Ukrainian military bloggers, Ukrainian forces crossed the Dnipro River in small groups during the summer in an effort to establish a foothold around a railway bridge near the city of Kherson, then sought to expand their presence in nearby villages on the eastern bank.
The progress made in the Kherson area comes after months of Ukrainian counteroffensive operations in the southeast and east, which have not achieved the breakthrough that Ukrainians were hoping for. The Ukrainian army reported in its daily update that fighting intensified along the entire front line from south to east, reporting 72 combat clashes in the past 24 hours. They added that the fiercest battles were taking place around Avdiivka, Marinka, and Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region.
