Ukrainian Army Counterattack In Kherson: Three Broken Bridges, Thousands Of Russian Troops Cornered Near Dnipro River
JAKARTA - British defense and intelligence officials said thousands of Russian troops were cornered near the Dnipro River after an attack by Ukrainian troops cut off the southern city of Kherson on Thursday.
Ukraine has made clear its intention to retake Kherson, which fell to Russia in the early days of the invasion launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24.
The British Ministry of Defense said Ukrainian forces may have built a bridge south of the Ingulets River, and had used new long-range artillery to damage at least three bridges crossing the Dnipro.
"Russia's 49th Army, stationed on the west bank of the Dnipro River, now looks very vulnerable," he said in a regular intelligence bulletin on Twitter, adding that Kherson was virtually cut off from other territories occupied by Russia.
"His loss will seriously damage Russia's efforts to portray the occupation as a success," the ministry said.
Separately, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, earlier tweeted that Russia was concentrating its "maximum number of troops" towards Kherson but gave no details.
Meanwhile, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Russia was carrying out a "massive redeployment" of troops from east to south in what was a strategic shift from attack to defense.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would rebuild the Antonivskyi bridge over the Dnipro, as well as other crossings in the region.
"We are doing everything to ensure that the occupying forces have no logistical opportunities in our country," he said in a speech late Wednesday.
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Russian officials previously said they would turn to pontoon bridges and ferries to carry troops across the river.
Russia-backed forces on Wednesday said they had captured the Soviet-era Vuhlehirsk coal-fired power plant, Ukraine's second-largest, in what was Moscow's first significant gain in more than three weeks.