Success In The East, Ukrainian Troops Break Through Russian Defenses In The South And Threaten Moscow's Army Supply Lines

JAKARTA - Ukrainian troops achieved their biggest breakthrough in the south since the war began, breaking through Russian defenses and advancing rapidly along the Dnipro River on Monday, threatening supply lines for thousands of enemy troops.

In a sign Ukraine is building momentum on two fronts, 300 km to the northeast a line of Ukrainian troop vehicles headed to reinforce the Lyman rail hub, recaptured over the weekend and a staging post to push into the Donbas region.

Kyiv provides little information about gains in the south, but Russian sources admit that Ukrainian forces have advanced tens of kilometers along the west bank of the river, recapturing a number of villages along the way.

The breakthrough reflects Ukraine's recent successes in the east that have turned the tide of the war, even as Moscow has tried to up the ante by annexing territory, ordering mobilization, and threatening nuclear retaliation.

"The information is tense, think of it that way, because yes, there has been a breakthrough," Vladimir Balance, the leader Russia stationed in the occupied parts of Ukraine's Kherson province, told Russian state television.

"There is a settlement called Dudchany, right along the Dnipro River, and there, in that area, there is a breakthrough. There are settlements occupied by Ukrainian troops," he said.

Dudchany was about 30 km (20 miles) south of where the front stood before the breakthrough, indicating the war's fastest advance so far in the south, where Russian troops have been dug into fortified positions along a largely static front line since the initial weeks of the invasion.

While Kyiv has yet to provide an elaboration on the developments, military and regional officials did release some details.

Soldiers from Ukraine's 128th Mountain Assault Brigade fly the country's blue and yellow flag in Myrolyubivka, a village between the former front and the Dnipro, according to a video released by the Defense Ministry.

Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior ministry, posted a photo of Ukrainian soldiers posing with their flags draped over a golden statue of an angel in a village he says is Mikhailivka, on the bank of a river about 20 km outside the previous front.

Serhiy Khlan, a member of the Kherson regional council, also listed Osokorivka, Mykhailivka, Khreschenikvka, and Zoloto Balka as recaptured villages, or where Ukrainian soldiers have been photographed.

"That means our armed forces are moving strongly along the edge of the Dnipro closer to Beryslav," he said.

The gains targeted supply lines for as many as 25,000 Russian troops on the western bank of the Dnipro. Ukraine has destroyed the main bridge, forcing Russian troops to use the makeshift crossing. A major advance on the river could cut them off completely.

"The fact that we have penetrated the front line means that the Russian army has lost the ability to attack, and today or tomorrow it could lose the ability to defend," said By Zhdanov, a Kyiv-based military analyst.

"One month of our work destroys their stockpile and reduces the combat effectiveness of this group, meaning they are operating with minimal rations in terms of ammunition, fuel and food," he said.

Since early September, Ukrainian forces have rapidly seized territory in the east of the country to gain control of Russian supply lines, cutting off larger Russian forces and forcing them to retreat.

Just hours after a concert at Moscow's Red Square on Friday, where Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia provinces to be Russian territory forever, Ukraine retook Lyman, Russia's main stronghold in the northern province of Donetsk.

That has paved the way for him to advance deep into Lugansk Province, threatening supply routes to territory Moscow captured in some of the bloodiest fighting in June and July.