Ukraine is pushing Russia back at the Dnieper

Ukraine says its forces have pushed back Russian soldiers between three and eight kilometers along the Dnieper River, which forms a front line in southern Ukraine.

It is said to be the first proper advance by Ukraine in the area since the counteroffensive against Russia began several months ago.

– The preliminary data varies between three and eight kilometers, depending on ground and landscape conditions, says army spokesperson Natalia Humenjuk on Ukrainian television.

It is unclear whether Ukraine has total control over the area.

Vehicles on the other side?

For weeks there have been reports of Ukrainian soldiers crossing the Dnieper into smaller communities on the occupied side. A few days ago it was said that Ukraine managed to get smaller vehicles across the river, but the situation is difficult to assess.

Ukraine retook the city of Kherson and areas on the western side of the Dnieper in a successful counter-offensive last fall. However, in June of this year, the great Nova Kakhovka dam burst, flooding large parts of the areas downstream of the Dnieper and further hampering military advances in that direction.

Drones against capital cities

In parallel, Ukraine and Russia continue to attack each other with drones.

During the night of Sunday, the capitals Kiev and Moscow were subjected to such attacks. The drones were largely stopped by anti-aircraft defenses and did not cause any major damage, according to authorities in both countries.

Ukrainian drone strikes against Moscow were particularly frequent this spring, but have become less frequent in recent weeks. According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, the night’s drones were destroyed over the Moscow region and Mayor Sergei Sobyanin writes on Telegram that no people were injured.

Kiev was hit for the second night in a row by a barrage of Iranian-made Shahed drones fired by Russian forces, the city’s military administration said. “15 of the enemy’s 20 drones were destroyed,” according to the General Staff. No casualties or significant damage to infrastructure are reported.