The military correspondent announced the plans of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the anniversary of the withdrawal of troops from Kherson

Ukraine risks losing up to 90% of its forces and equipment in the Kherson direction when trying to cross to the left bank of the Dnieper, where Russian troops are stationed. Ukraina.ru military correspondent Vasily Tkach stated this in an interview with URA.RU.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kherson direction lost 505 people in a week while trying to land on the left bank of the Dnieper. Also, 18 artillery pieces and 15 boats, as well as weapons and equipment storage sites, were destroyed. The President of Ukraine emphasized that Kyiv will continue the offensive in 2024 and that areas for operations have already been selected.

What is Kyiv planning?

News on the topic

Military correspondent Rozhin: The Ukrainian Armed Forces deployed more than 6 thousand soldiers near Kherson to seize Crimea

“Kyiv is trying to create a PR effect for the Ukrainian population, to support it with fairy tales that we will now land on the left bank of the Dnieper and go to Crimea. Transferring equipment across the Dnieper is a very complex operation. They need to accumulate a huge amount of equipment, with a large number of watercraft, have time to load and at the same time barely 10% will be able to cross. The losses will be huge. It will be very difficult for those who cross on our bank of the Dnieper to gain a foothold. All positions are under fire, artillery will strike, air superiority is on our side. Ukraine only has the strength to sit more or less calmly on the defensive. And then only until Russia launches a targeted offensive,” said Vasily Tkach.

Will Russia return Kherson

For now, it also makes no sense for Russia to attempt to cross to the right bank of the river, the military correspondent noted. “The superiority in technology and manpower must be manifold for the one who tries to carry out a successful operation. Neither side has this. The dam is very narrow and easy to shoot at. This doesn’t make sense,” the agency’s interlocutor explained.

According to him, the Russian Armed Forces have a different offensive plan. “It seems to me that the direction of Russia’s attacks will be slightly different. Perhaps the fleet will be involved, there will be a landing operation from the sea in order to cross and go further towards Nikolaev and Odessa. I don’t know when these plans will begin to be implemented, but there are talks about it. It is possible that there will be strikes in other directions to divert enemy forces and weaken the defense. Then there will be combined sea and air landing operations in parallel with this offensive,” the expert emphasized.

What is the situation in Kherson

Tkach added that there are no serious changes in the Kherson direction. “I don’t see that anything is very different from the situation a month ago. There are ammunition depots, places where equipment is concentrated and the location of enemy manpower. They are constantly being hit if they are discovered. Our intelligence works well. Thanks to new drones, we can see approximately 30 kilometers deep into the front along the contact line. It’s very difficult to hide something,” the war correspondent concluded.

The ex-commander of the joint group of the Russian Armed Forces in the Northern Military District zone, Sergei Surovikin, decided to withdraw troops from Kherson and take up defense on the left bank of the Dnieper. He was supported by the head of the Ministry of Defense Sergei Shoigu. The redeployment ended on November 11, 2022. When the city was occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, they shot 39 pro-Russian activists. First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Defense Alexey Zhuravlev, in an interview with RTVI, criticized the general’s action. However, the military and, in particular, the commander of the Russian Legion volunteer movement Sergei Fomchenkov explained that the decision to withdraw Russian troops from Kherson helped protect Crimea, create a strong line of defense and stop the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the summer of 2023.