During their summer campaign to drive Russian troops from the southern region of Kherson, Ukraine’s forces have decimated Russian command centres and ammunition depots, severed supply lines with precision strikes on key bridges, and sown terror among collaborationist officials with a spate of car bombings, shootings, and, according to Ukrainian officials, at least one poisoning. In addition, they have severed supply lines with precision strikes on key bridges.
However, in the sun-baked fields along the western border of the Kherson Region, the Ukrainian fighters who would be relied on to deliver the knockout punch in any successful assault to recover land are trapped down in their trenches. It is difficult, if not impossible, for Ukrainian forces to press forward without suffering enormous casualties as a result of Moscow’s overwhelming advantage in artillery, ammunition, and heavy weaponry. These advantages have not yet been eroded by the cuts to supply lines that have been implemented.
An outpost of trenchworks located in the Mykolaiv region, just a few miles from the Russian lines in Kherson, is commanded by a 33-year-old lieutenant with the call sign Ada. He stated, “Without a doubt, we require a counteroffensive; I sincerely believe it will come,” in reference to the impending offensive.
We do have a few challenges as a result of this, which is quite unfortunate.
The loss of the Kherson area, with its huge black-earth farmlands and reputation for producing some of the most flavorful tomatoes and watermelons in the nation, has been keenly felt by the people of Ukraine. During the first several weeks of the conflict, Russian forces launched attacks from their bases on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula, which allowed them to conquer almost the whole area. Since then, the authorities of Ukraine have been hatching plans to reclaim it.
However, doing so involves a significant number of difficulties.
Russia continues to retain an overwhelming advantage in personnel numbers and weapons, and in recent weeks, the Kremlin has taken steps to boost its military in the area, moving resources there from the combat in the eastern Donbas. Even if the Ukrainian military is successful in driving the Russian forces out of the rural farmlands, they will almost certainly be forced to engage in a vicious urban battle for the city of Kherson, which may result in significant casualties and the destruction of a great deal of property and life.
Ukraine is likewise observing a shortened period of time for its operations. In the middle of September, the Kremlin intends to hold a referendum on the incorporation of Kherson into Russia. According to the opinions of various experts, in order to prevent this from happening, the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, and his generals will need to take some kind of significant offensive action very soon.
However, according to Professor O’Brien and a few other people, Russia’s position in Kherson is likewise in a perilous state.
Ukrainian authorities claim that their country’s artillery assault has been successful in halting the movement of Russian soldiers, equipment, and armaments into the area, despite the fact that Ukrainian forces have not made any advancements in Kherson for many weeks. Ukrainian forces have used high-precision weapons such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which was supplied by the United States of America. These weapons have been used to bombard the three bridges over the vast Dnipro River that connect thousands of Russian troops to their supply lines in occupied territory to the east of the river.
Nataliya Gumenyuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s southern command, said that the attacks had made these bridges “inoperable.” The Antonivsky Bridge, which serves as the primary supply conduit into the city of Kherson, was the target of yet another attack carried out by Ukrainian troops over the weekend.