Ukrainian forces have successfully established a presence on the east bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak. This is the first official acknowledgment of Ukrainian troops being stationed in the Kherson region on the Dnipro’s east bank.
Yermak made these remarks during an address to the Hudson Institute think-tank in the United States, which were subsequently posted on Zelenskiy’s website. He stated, “Against all odds, Ukraine’s Defense Forces have gained a foothold on the left (east) bank of the Dnipro. Step by step, they are demilitarizing Crimea. We have covered 70% of the distance. And our counteroffensive is developing.”
During the initial days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces seized the Kherson region. However, they abandoned the regional capital, Kherson, and the Dnipro’s west bank late last year. Since then, they have been carrying out shelling attacks on Kherson and other towns from new positions on the east bank.
As Ukraine’s counteroffensive has made only incremental gains over the past four months, Ukrainian officials have been cautious in describing the activities of their forces on the east bank. While a military spokesperson mentioned this month that “not bad results” had been achieved in forcing Russian troops to reposition, unofficial reports have noted Ukrainian advancements.
Last week, Russia’s military claimed to have foiled a Ukrainian attempt to establish a bridgehead on the eastern bank and nearby islands, resulting in the alleged deaths of around 500 Ukrainian soldiers. However, Reuters was unable to independently verify this battlefield claim.
In a highly unusual incident on Monday, two Russian state news agencies momentarily published alerts stating that Moscow was relocating troops to “more favorable positions” east of the Dnipro River in Ukraine, only to retract the information shortly after. In the past, Russia has used similar phrasing to describe retreats.
During his address to the Hudson Institute, Yermak emphasized that Russia had no intention of ending the war and instead aimed to “outlast and out-endure the unity of democracies.” He stressed the need for immediate weaponry, highlighting Russia’s air superiority and its ability to produce missiles despite sanctions, as well as the threat posed by Iranian drones and North Korean artillery rounds.
This report was compiled by Ron Popeski and Yuliia Dysa, with editing by Angus MacSwan and Gareth Jones.
