The Russian Federation wants to seize the bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper, but there is no talk of an assault on Kherson – the spokesman of the Southern Defense Forces

Russian troops probably want to capture a bridgehead on one of the islands or on the right bank of the Dnieper in order to transfer fire equipment there. From this bridgehead, the forces of the Russian Federation could exert a fire influence on Kherson, on military units, units of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, located in the coastal zone on the right bank of the Dnieper. On December 24, the spokesman of the Southern Defense Forces, Vladyslav Voloshyn, told about it on Radio Svoboda (Svoboda.Ranok project). According to him, that is why there are five to seven assaults by small infantry groups every day in the Dnieper direction.

“The enemy has currently activated similar assaults on Kozatskyi Island, and for several days in a row he has been trying to land on Velikay Potemkin Island, and before that he tried to land in the south on Zabych Island. And even before that, for two weeks, he carried out such actions in the area of ​​Antonivsky bridges. That is, the enemy is looking for, probing our defenses: where there are weak points, trying to determine where we have fire equipment, trying to see how the defense system is located, where the firing positions are,” says Voloshyn.

But, according to the spokesman of the Southern Defense Forces, it is impossible to call it an attempt to launch a major assault or to force the Dnipro: “This is not done by such groups. This is done by much larger forces, but larger forces are very difficult to hide with modern means of intelligence. In order to cross the armored vehicles, to somehow transfer them to the other side of the Dnieper, means are necessary… To build a pontoon crossing – it should be at least a kilometer-long bridge. It is a large number of these cars that carry pontoons, it is difficult to hide them. To storm with only one infantry on some boats or motor boats, you see, is, roughly speaking, not serious. This is a few volleys of cluster munitions – and they feed the fish.”

Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, the head of the internal and information policy department of the Kherson OVA, says that even if the information about the probable attack of Russian troops on Kherson turns out to be true, it will be suicide for the forces of the Russian Federation.

However, Tolokonnikov says, if the military warns of such a danger, they are ready to announce an additional evacuation from the city and the district: “As for any forced evacuation, we have everything ready: we have logistics, we have people, we have places for temporary stay. If the military command tells us that the security situation does not allow people to live here, and it is necessary to announce a forced evacuation, then of course we will carry out this mandatory evacuation under compulsion.”

Earlier this week, the “RBK-Ukraine” publication, with reference to sources, reported on the probable preparation of an assault on Kherson by the forces of the Russian Federation. Specific details of the plan, which should have provided for an assault on the Dnipro, do not appear in the message.