Every scrap of land is contested in battle for Dnipro delta at Kherson, with shelling and airstrikes punctuating deadly boat raids
From her fifth-floor balcony in Kherson, Alina Spyrydonova can see the bank of the Dnipro River occupied by Russian forces.
In recent days, the violence in Kherson has worsened still as the city was ordered placed under a strict new curfew from Friday, amid mounting speculation of where Ukraine’s much-vaunted spring offensive may strike.From the streets close to the waterfront the Dnipro could be seen gleaming between waterfront buildings, a broad sweep of water separating the combatants into two areas of control.
A resident takes cover on Wednesday in Kherson, Ukraine, after a Russian airstrike on a train station.What is clear is that fighting for the Dnipro delta’s islands, marshes and inlets has been very different from the gruelling battles on the eastern front. Here, combatants have moved in ribs In this lethal game of cat and mouse, both sides frequently carry out raids from the boats, which are visible to drones and vulnerable to gunfire, artillery and mines.
Dmytro Pletenhuk, a military spokesperson in the city, says: “The Russians have every kind of weapon [on the east bank]. They have rocket systems, mortars and artillery. The smaller islands – some of which are no more than specks on the river – matter because they can be used as bases for firing mortars on the city. Every scrap of land is bitterly contested.
Even when the hard won raids by the Ukrainians succeed those trying to hold the ground know they can be targeted with strikes from Russian jets dropping guided bombs whose detonations can appear as big as the islands themselves. While Ukraine’s military has announced it has been conducting intensive artillery missions to try clear Russian forces from their positions on the east bank, the threat remains.
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