Ukraine Expanding Its Bridgehead Along the Dnipro River: Reports

• Ukraine is expanding its bridgehead along the left bank of the Dnipro river.
• Ukrainian armored vehicles have reportedly crossed the river for the first time.
• Ukrainian Marines are reportedly digging into at least four sites along the river’s east bank.

Ukraine is expanding its bridgehead along the left bank of the Dnipro river, putting Russian defense forces under pressure.

Earlier this week, it was reported that Ukrainian armored vehicles had crossed the river for the first time. Russian Telegram channels said that a single Ukrainian BTR-4 had been seen crossing over on drone footage.

Ukrainian Marines are leading the charge, and are digging into at least four sites along the river’s east bank along a stretch of territory about 19-22 miles long, the Kyiv Post reported.

The bridgeheads are not believed to be connected, but Ukrainian forces are expanding them, British newspaper The Telegraph reported.

Ukraine’s advance will likely be slow as the terrain around the bridgeheads is wet, marshy, and heavily wooded, according to the paper.

Ukrainian forces have taken control over areas in the village of Krynky and have conducted assaults against Russian positions toward the south, the think tank the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported, citing Russian milbloggers.

The ISW noted that the Russian command might face difficulties in reinforcing its operations in Kherson in response to the Ukrainian actions without compromising operations in other regions.

“The Russians are throwing everything they have at us: artillery, attack drones, phosphorus,” an army sergeant with the call sign Vozhd, told AFP.

Ukraine’s forces are attempting to push forward

Marines in Krynky are pushing ahead mostly on foot in assault teams of 10 to 15 people, Forbes said.

The Ukrainian plan to push toward Krynky began several months ago and involved electronic warfare measures to counter Russian drones, operations to disrupt Russian supply lines, and riverine attacks under the cover of helicopter crews, Forbes reported.

Open-source data estimates that there are around 300-500 Ukrainian troops across the river and less than 20 vehicles, according to the Kyiv Post.

Ukrainian military observer Konstyantyn Mashovets said that Ukrainian forces had established continuous control of positions from the Antonivsky railway bridge north of Poyma to the Antonivsky roadway bridge north of Oleshky as of Thursday.

Ukraine captured the city of Kherson from Russian control in November 2022, but large parts of Kherson Oblast on the eastern side of the river are still occupied.

While Ukraine’s counteroffensive has made slow progress, the Kherson region has become a hot spot where Ukraine’s forces are attempting to push forward.

The Russian defense ministry claimed that on Thursday it thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to forge a bridgehead on River Dnipro’s east bank, Reuters reported, but the outlet noted that the claim could not be independently verified.