Ukraine's Armored Vehicles Have Reached Dnieper East Bank in Kherson: ISW

Ukraine's armored vehicles have reached the Russian-controlled east bank of the Dnieper river in southern Ukraine, a think tank has said, citing military sources.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, said in its latest analysis of the conflict in Ukraine on Tuesday that Ukraine's expanding bridgehead on the Russian-controlled bank is now likely being reinforced by its armored infantry vehicles.

Kyiv's troops reached the occupied side of the Dnieper in mid-October after extensive cross-river operations. That followed Ukraine's successful liberation of the city of Kherson and the west bank of the river toward the end of 2022.

Russian military blogger Rybar reported last week that more teams of marines had crossed the river to support fellow Ukrainian troops.

Ukraine's 46th brigade told the BBC late last month that troops held a position on the east bank, and that intense fighting was underway to recapture the village of Krynky.

The brigade said doing so would enable troops to establish a base to further an offensive that seeks to divide Russian troops and cut off their supply lines.

On Tuesday, the ISW said Russian milbloggers have claimed that more than 300 Ukrainian personnel are operating on the east bank in the Krynky area and continue to claim that Ukrainian forces maintain positions in central Krynky and nearby environs.

Ukraine is "continuing larger-than-usual ground operations on the east bank with a light infantry grouping of roughly battalion size," the think tank said.

"The reported battalion-size Ukrainian force grouping on the east bank suggests that heavy Russian interdiction efforts along the Dnieper River have not prevented Ukrainian forces from transferring additional personnel and materiel to positions on the east bank," it added.

It isn't clear how many armored infantry vehicles have crossed the Dnieper to the east bank, but the ISW cited Russian milbloggers as saying they had seen an amphibious transport vehicle carrying an infantry fighting vehicle, a Ukrainian amphibious infantry fighting vehicle, and a destroyed Western amphibious armored personnel carrier.

Newsweek was unable to independently verify the reports and has contacted the defense ministries of Russia and Ukraine by email for comment.

"Russian milbloggers claimed that combat engagements continued near Krynky, as well as near Poyma (12 kilometers [7.5 miles] east of Kherson City and 4 kilometers from the Dnieper River), Pishchanivka (13 kilometers east of Kherson City and 3 kilometers from the Dnieper River), and Pidstepne (17 kilometers east of Kherson City and 4 kilometers from the Dnieper River), but did not claim that Ukrainian attempts to advance on November 6 and 7 were particularly larger than in previous days," the think tank said.

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