After the liberation of Kherson, Ukrainians look to Crimea

In the Kherson region, the military situation is gradually becoming clearer. The Dnieper clearly separates the two enemy camps, who observe each other through binoculars above its majestic flow. Initial fears of a Russian trap designed to draw Ukrainian troops into deadly urban warfare in the city of Kherson did not materialize. Kyiv regained control of the entire 4,500 km² The right bank of the Dnieper was occupied by Russia.

Ukraine won a victory with beautiful parameters, first without civilian bloodshed. Since August HIMARS used rocket launchers and Western artillery (French Caesar, American M777, German PzH-2000, among others), which broke the logistics lines of the invader and forced him to retreat. There was nothing obvious about this counterattack in the grassy area with the Ingolets River as a natural barrier, but very few trees to facilitate infiltration operations.

It appears that the Ukrainian forces do not have the numerical superiority needed to attack or a comfortable number of armor to protect their troops. Kherson’s success was a combination of Western intelligence and arms supplies, the national arsenal at low water levels, allowing the invader to strike quickly and accurately 70 km beyond the front line. But above all, the impressive courage of Ukrainian soldiers and determination to liberate their territory.

In contrast, Russia appears to have at least succeeded in its evacuation, as there were no mass groups of soldiers captured in the operation. In all likelihood, the right bank evacuation by the Russians was pre-planned and started before mid-October, satellite images show. Published Via Ukrainian intelligence site Schemy. Ukrainian civil servants no doubt knew this. Unable to evacuate the heavy equipment, the Russian army was forced to destroy part of it, and the rest was added to the 2,500 “trophies” that the Ukrainian army had already turned against its aggressor.

Crimea became a besieged fortress

However, the Russian withdrawal poses several challenges for Ukraine. With Russia retreating behind a vast natural barrier created by the Dnieper, the front suddenly shrank by 300 km. An amphibious operation striking the left bank frontally seems extraordinarily dangerous to Kyiv.

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