According to British military intelligence, Ukrainian forces demolished or damaged bridges that connected Kherson with the remainder of Russia’s controlled area, making Russian troops defending the city “extremely vulnerable” to attack.
After Ukraine blew up the Antonovsky Bridge, which is Russia’s major traffic route into and out of the city, Putin’s men are now dependent on pontoon bridges and ferries to carry troops, vehicles, and supplies across the Dnipro River.
The Nova Khakokva hydropower dam bridge and the Antonovsky Rail Bridge were both recently destroyed and are currently not fully functional.
The next-closest bridge across Ukraine’s largest river, the Dnipro, which divides the nation in half, is located in the centre of the city of Zaporizhzhia, 130 miles from Kherson and under Ukrainian administration and defence.
In the event that Ukraine launches an attack, which is anticipated to happen shortly, it means that Russia will have no simple way to bolster or resupply its troops in Kherson.
The strike would be Ukraine’s first significant counterattack of the conflict and would be essential to demonstrating that Ukraine can retake land taken by Russia.
The Dnipro River bridges that Russia uses to feed its controlled territories have been damaged by Ukraine using its new long-range weaponry, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The 1,000-meter-long (3,300-foot) Antonovsky Bridge, which is located close to Kherson City, was damaged last week. On July 27, Ukraine struck it once more, and it is very likely that the crossing is no longer functional.
The west bank of the Dnipro River is where the 49th Army of Russia is stationed, and it appears rather vulnerable right now.
Similarly, Kherson City, the most major Russian city from a political standpoint, is now practically shut off from the other occupied areas.
“Russia’s attempts to portray the occupation as a triumph would be greatly undermined by its loss.”
Additionally, it is believed that Ukraine burned or damaged a number of bridges over the Inhulets River, which runs north from Kherson towards the city of Kryvyi Rih.
As a result, the Kherson region has been divided in two, with the city on one side and an exposed and challenging-to-defend rural territory on the other.
British intelligence suggests that Kyiv’s men have established a toe-hold spanning the Inhulets as they move south from Kryvyi Rih into that rural area.
The area’s Russian troops now have the onerous task of holding the region without a clear path of retreat in the event that they fail.
If Ukraine were to take control of the region, Kherson would be left with a difficult-to-cross river at its back and be besieged on three sides.
The attacks on the Dnipro bridges, according to Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, forced Russia into a “impossible choice”: “retreat or be obliterated by the Ukrainian army.”
The bridge had been hit overnight, and traffic had been stopped, according to Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the regional administration in Kherson that Russia had installed.
However, he made an effort to minimise the harm, stating that the attack would not “in any way” impact how the hostilities would turn out.
Russian forces easily and quickly captured the Kherson region after beginning their invasion on February 24, but Ukrainian forces have been regaining ground there in recent weeks.
Their counteroffensive has brought their forces closer to Kherson city, whose pre-war population was less than 300,000, with the aid of long-range artillery supplied by the West.
Russian forces ought to evacuate Kherson as soon as possible.
After the incident, Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhaylo Podolyak tweeted that there might not be a third warning.
The Kherson attack carries significant risk. As the only regional capital it has taken control of since the conflict began and its only foothold on the western bank of the Dnipro, Russia will be desperate to hold the city.
A successful large-scale counterattack against Russia is a considerably more difficult operation than defence, thus Ukraine needs to demonstrate that it can carry one off.
This would demonstrate that Kyiv’s ultimate war goal of retaking every area that Russia has gained since the start of the war is feasible, at least in theory.
It would provide the troops a much-needed morale boost and bring the fight back into the spotlight, which would probably be followed by further financial and military backing.
Kyiv will be acutely aware that Russia is restricting gas supplies to its European partners, and as winter approaches, this pressure will only grow.
President Zelensky and his administration may find it challenging to persuade friends to continue their support in the absence of a substantial victory.
With the opening of a coordination centre to manage a UN-backed pact, Ukraine announced it has reopened operations at its blockaded Black Sea ports, bringing it closer to starting grain exports once again.
Last week, Ukraine and Russia came to an agreement, with the assistance of Turkey and the UN, to allow grain that had been stuck due to Moscow’s naval blockade to be exported from three ports.
Despite a missile attack by Russia over the weekend on the port in Odessa, Kyiv has stated that it plans to start sending out the first of millions of tonnes of grain this week.
According to the Ukrainian navy, “work has restarted” at the export hubs to get ships ready to be escorted through mine-filled waterways to reach international markets.
In accordance with the agreement, a coordination centre in Istanbul with Ukrainian and Russian representatives was formed to supervise checks for prohibited weapons and monitor the safe passage of vessels along specified routes.
Food imports have become unreasonably expensive for some of the world’s poorest countries as a result of the suspension of shipments from two of the major grain producers in the world.
Germany’s energy authority reported that the flow of Russian gas via the crucial Nord Stream pipeline has decreased to 20% of capacity on Wednesday from 40%, worsening an energy crisis in Europe brought on by the conflict.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, claimed that the supply was restricted due to EU sanctions, but Berlin rejected the claim and government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann referred to the cuts as a “power play” by Moscow.
The European Union, which has been preparing for energy shortages, decided on Tuesday to restrict gas usage by 15% this winter in order to lessen its reliance on Russia.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, announced plans to increase Ukrainian electricity supplies to European consumers in response to Europe’s energy concerns.
In his daily speech to the nation on Wednesday night, Zelensky said, “Our export not only allows us to create foreign currency revenues, but also helps our allies endure the energy pressure from Russia.”