After the withdrawal from Kherson, Russia warned that it would not give up this territory which it decreed the annexation. However, it is currently adopting a defensive posture, the main purpose of which is to protect Crimea.
Even though Kherson remains within firing range of the Russian soldiers, the latter will not be able to recross the Dnieper. Currently entrenched on the other side of the river since the flight from Kherson, the Russian army seeks to prevent a new Ukrainian offensive and to defend Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. ” In the strategy of the Russian general, it is essentially a question of protecting Crimea. So he installed defensive lines along the Dnieper and the defensive lines north of the Crimea, which existed before, were reinforced explains General Dominique Trinquand, military expert and former head of the French military mission to the UN.
A logical choice, he believes, because there is little chance that the Ukrainians will be able to cross the Dnieper offensively where the Russians crossed it backwards “.
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“Can they continue to conquer something? »
Now that the city of Kherson, occupied by Russian soldiers for more than eight months, has been recaptured, it is time, with winter approaching, ” for each of the belligerents to measure the state of its forces “. On the one hand, are the Ukrainians in a position to launch a new offensive towards the north, in the direction of Zaporizhia nuclear power plant ? On the other hand, the Russians must know if they have the possibility of holding in the Donbass, where they are advancing sporadically, and if they are able to keep the territory they have conquered from the Dnieper to the Donbass “.
“ They need to assess their strength and know if they can continue to conquer something, or if this is the time when they need to start negotiations to stabilize things “, he analyzes. After the American adviser’s visit to kyiv in early November, the Ukrainians, like the Russians, said they were ready to discuss while laying down conditions ” unacceptable remarks Dominique Trinquand.