Russian occupiers conduct what they call reconnaissance by combat on a daily basis, attempting to dislodge Ukrainian Armed Forces units from their positions with small assault groups. Meanwhile, preparations for a major river crossing of the Dnipro have not yet been detected by reconnaissance. This was stated by Vladislav Voloshin, a representative of the Southern Defense Forces, during a telethon.
"The past day was quite unsettled in our operational zone. The enemy continues artillery shelling, increasing it by about a third. That is, if there were 250-300 strikes, now it’s up to 370. Additionally, the opponent has increased the number of kamikaze drone strikes..." - the spokesperson said.
According to him, the situation in the Kherson (Dniprovsk) direction has remained almost unchanged for several weeks, with daily assaults occurring from 5 to 7 times. However, the enemy does not reduce shelling of Kherson and the nearby settlements along the Dnipro, launching attacks with drones, guided aerial bombs, and unguided air missiles.
The spokesperson also commented on whether the enemy could launch an offensive operation in Kherson at this time.
"To advance on Kherson, one must cross a significant water barrier like the Dnipro. To do this, it is necessary to gather sufficient forces and means, which are nearly impossible to conceal with today's reconnaissance capabilities. Currently, our intelligence does not see enough offensive forces," - Voloshin stated.
He explained that the daily assaults carried out by the enemy in small groups resemble certain "search operations." The assault typically involves two to three boats with 5-7 people attempting to land on the right bank, usually in the island zone, particularly on Kazatsky Island, to conduct assault operations there.
"They are trying to dislodge our defenders from there. Almost the entire island zone of the Dnipro is under the fire control of the Ukrainian Defense Forces. Therefore, the enemy has not achieved success, and those reconnaissance-search operations resemble reconnaissance by combat, aimed at identifying our fire assets, the specifics of our defense, and where and what obstacles, barriers, and fire assets are located," - Voloshin explained.
At the same time, he noted that over the past day, there were 10 fewer assaults in the Vremensky direction - down from 44 to 34.
Situation in the Kherson Direction
Let us remind you that the occupiers are striving to seize a foothold on one of the islands or the right bank of the Dnipro to position fire assets for shelling Kherson and the Ukrainian Armed Forces units located in the coastal zone of the right bank. According to Southern Defense Forces representative Vladislav Voloshin, this is why 5-7 assaults by small infantry groups are recorded daily in the Dniprovsk direction. Recently, the enemy has intensified such assaults on Kazatsky Island, attempting to land multiple times on Bolshoy Potemkin Island. Prior to this, attempts by the invaders to land were recorded on Zabich Island and near the Antonovsky bridges.