Russia's Poorly Trained Troops Can't Dislodge Ukraine From Key Foothold—UK

Russia's troops have been unable to push Ukraine from territory under Kyiv's control on the east bank of the Dnieper River, according to a new assessment. This is despite Moscow's "significant advantage" on the left bank of the river, which is also known as the Dnipr, in the south of Ukraine.

Russia's Dnipr Group of Forces have been "unsuccessful in all its attempts to dislodge the Ukrainian defenders" from the east bank, "despite almost certainly having a significant advantage in the balance of forces" in the area, the U.K. Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

"It is highly likely that the poor training and coordination of Russian forces in the area is limiting their offensive capabilities," the British government said.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

Ukraine made sweeping gains in the southern Kherson region in its first counteroffensive in late 2022, pushing Russian forces back to the east bank of the Dnieper that has roughly marked the front lines in the region throughout 2023 and into 2024. Kyiv's fighters have been whittling away at Russian defenses on the east bank, establishing pockets of control in villages such as Krynky.

Ukraine had hoped to roll back Russian control through southern Ukraine in its summer counteroffensive in 2023, but these dramatic advances failed to materialize.

Around April 2023, Russia's government made one of its first references to a "Dnipr Group of Forces" operating in southern Ukraine. The group was likely formed after heavy losses to Moscow's original forces around Kherson, London said last spring.

Forcing Ukraine from the left bank of the Dnieper River "remains a priority operational objective for Russia," the U.K. government added on Saturday. "It is highly likely Russia will persist with attacks in the Krynky area in the coming weeks despite growing personnel losses."

Ukrainian forces maintain their positions on the left bank of the Dnieper, and there were no confirmed changes to the front line as of Saturday, the U.S. think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest analysis.

Ukraine's southern defense forces said on Sunday that Russia was continuing efforts to push Ukraine back from the left bank, but that Kyiv's troops had taken out 14 Russian soldiers, nine armored vehicles and five drones on the east bank in the previous 24 hours. Russia's Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its forces had taken out 20 Ukrainian soldiers and four of Kyiv's military vehicles across the front line in Kherson.

Bearing down on Russian positions on the left bank is costing Ukraine. "The situation is deplorable," one Ukrainian soldier operating on the Dnieper's east bank told The Financial Times in an article published on Friday.

Earlier in the week, Colonel Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces, said Kyiv's forces were facing "logistical difficulties," but were committed to expanding the bridgehead established across the river.

"Everything we take is what we can carry ourselves," Humeniuk told The Financial Times. "There are at most some types of grenade launchers. In a very rare case, I saw one heavy machine gun brought across."

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