Updated 00.16 | Published 00.09
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Ukraine may be about to fight its way across the Dnieper River.
They are said to have already struck several villages on the occupied side of the beach.
A new front is a first step down towards occupied Crimea.
The Kremlin suspects that Ukraine has launched “more ambitious” attacks from the western bank of the Dnieper River.
Putin suspects that it is part of the “next counter-offensive”.
Ukrainian troops have launched repeated raids on Russian positions along the eastern side of the river recently.
Behind enemy lines
Military analysts in the West refer to several video clips showing Ukrainian troops in a number of locations operating further behind enemy lines than previously seen, writes The New York Times.
“The Ukrainian efforts appear to be larger than the tactical raids previously observed,” states the military think tank The Institute for the Study of War.
The Ukrainian military has been tight-lipped about its plans along the Dnieper near the city of Kherson, which it recaptured from the Russians.
So far, attacks across the river have been smaller in scale. It has carried out reconnaissance, sabotage operations and attacks with the aim of undermining Russian defenses and logistics.
Threatening Crimea
But if Ukraine succeeds in establishing a bridgehead across the river from its positions near Kherson, a new front can be opened.
It would threaten the Russian occupation of Crimea, allow Ukraine to further strike against Russian logistics and take the battlefield to places where the Russians are not as well dug in and the terrain is not as mined, writes The New York Times.
Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, a military spokesman in Kherson, told the newspaper that Ukrainian units are “constantly trying to overrun marines and others” on the eastern side of the beach and that extensive Russian bombing of the area shows the Kremlin’s concern about the situation.
Destroyed 14 helicopters
In the last few weeks, they have increased from one or two a day to about 20, he states.
The attempts to open a new front against Russian positions come at the same time as Ukraine hopes to shake Russia with the long-range robots it recently received from the United States.
They can be used to reach Russian airbases, ammunition depots and headquarters in the occupied parts of southern Ukraine that were previously out of reach.
In attacks this week, they are said to have knocked out at least 14 Russian helicopters.
Strike at villages
Russian military bloggers have reported Ukrainian gains along the eastern reaches of the Dnieper in the Kherson region.
The blogger Rybar, who is considered one of the most reliable Russian military analysts, states that Ukrainian troops struck Russian positions in the village of Krynky, a few kilometers inland from the Dnieper.
They are said to have also entered other villages a few kilometers east of the river.