Ukraine focuses on establishing a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River

Ukraine has repeatedly deployed troops across the Dnieper River to create a springboard for a potential counterattack, despite fierce Russian retaliation.

The Ukrainian Marine Corps has recently deployed several groups of soldiers across the Dnieper River at night and has reinforced its hold on the eastern bank. Ukrainian soldiers involved in the operation claim to have established three strongholds in and around several riverside villages in recent weeks.

Ukrainian soldiers are hiding in basements and trenches in the area. Their chances of holding these positions are slim as the Ukrainian side is heavily outnumbered by Russian forces.

However, the footholds that Ukraine has established along the eastern bank of the Dnieper River are considered a rare bright spot when the counter-offensive campaign is falling into a stalemate.

Ukrainian officials spoke publicly about the operation to cross the Dnieper River earlier this week. Ukrainian forces said they had sent several Humvees and at least one infantry fighting vehicle across the Dnieper to support units holding out on the eastern bank.

Ukrainian soldiers on the west bank of the Dnieper River prepare to fire mortars at Russian positions on the other side of the river on November 6. Photo: AFP

If Ukraine can accumulate enough troops and armor here, it could push deeper into areas where Russian defenses are less secure than elsewhere along the front line.

The Kakhovka dam collapse in June left many settlements along the Dnieper River flooded. With the river widening and the threat of enemy crossings lower, Russia appears to have shifted some of its forces to the eastern front to counter a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Ukraine's river crossing could force Russia to redeploy its forces, hampering its offensive in the east and threatening its overland supply line to the Crimean peninsula.

Still, the operation to establish a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnieper has been difficult and costly, with Ukrainian soldiers involved in the operation to cross the river reporting heavy attacks by Russian forces.

Small Russian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) continuously hovered over the trenches that Ukrainian soldiers hastily dug in newly created footholds on the east bank of the river, directing artillery targets whenever they detected movement.

Franz-Stefan Gady, an expert at the US-based Institute for Strategic and International Studies, said the campaign to cross the Dnieper River faced many difficulties. "The rugged river terrain not only created challenges for supply operations, but also required constant momentum to sustain the offensive," said Mr. Gady.

Private Andriy of the 38th Marine Brigade of Ukraine, which crossed the Dnieper River to the east bank in early November, said his unit advanced more than 300 feet in six days of holding out. “We faced a Russian force 10 times larger,” Andriy said. “We couldn’t even stick our heads out of our trenches.”

Location of Krynki village in Kherson province. Graphics: RYV

Nevertheless, the offensive helped Ukraine take control of the village of Krynki and two other settlements on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River in October. They kept this secret until Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, announced the information on November 13 when speaking in Washington, DC.

Russian forces have planted mines around the village of Krynki, forcing Ukrainian soldiers to advance in small groups to avoid stepping on them. The coming winter will complicate Ukraine’s efforts to move troops and equipment across the Dnieper River, and hamper the operations of any armor it has brought to the east bank.

Private Andriy said that he and his comrades crossed the river and landed on the eastern bank at night at different points to avoid Russian snipers and scouts, then headed for the village of Krynki. As soon as they took up positions in trenches and foxholes hastily dug in the forest, Russian artillery opened fire.

Russian reconnaissance and attack drones continuously flew over the Ukrainian soldiers’ positions. When one ran out of battery, the Russians sent another to replace it. Andriy said there were constant gunfire, and two soldiers in his company were killed by a Russian sniper.

Andriy said he saw Russian soldiers “relaxing in a complex of trenches a short distance away”. “They had generators and kitchens. They listened to rap music when the fighting subsided,” Andriy said.

Ukrainian soldiers stand guard on the west bank of the Dnieper River on November 6. Photo: AFP

Yaroslav’s job was to bandage the wounded Ukrainian soldiers and transfer them to boats to be taken to the west bank of the Dnieper River for treatment. Yaroslav said the Russian shelling was often so intense that even the men carrying the wounded to the riverbank were wounded.

“What we have here we either brought ourselves or they brought it by boat,” said Yaroslav. “To get these things we have to go to the riverbank and such trips are always life-threatening.”

Ukrainian soldiers said Russia launched a heavy bombardment of their positions around the village of Krynki on November 7, using multiple bombs and thermobaric rockets. Andriy and Yaroslav left the area dazed from the blast and completely exhausted.

"This is our last chance to break through until the fighting reaches a complete stalemate," Yaroslav said, describing the Kherson operation as the most difficult he had participated in since the conflict broke out in February 2022.

Nguyen Tien (According to WSJ )

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