Mutual artillery fire: Fighting for Kherson is getting fiercer American singer Aaron Carter is dead

Ukrainian troops and Russian occupiers fought fiercely on Saturday around the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. According to the Russian account, several front sections in the region came under heavy artillery fire. In some places, larger troop transfers and movements of Ukrainian armored units have been recorded. “Apparently, Ukrainian forces are preparing another attack,” the Russian-appointed deputy chief of administration of the occupied region, Kirill Stremusov, speculated.

The Ukrainian army had previously reported heavy fighting and artillery duels in the Kherson area. After initial successes, the Ukrainian leadership still wants to completely liberate the region in the south of the country.

Strategic and symbolic importance for Russia

Kherson is the only regional capital Kiev lost control of after the Russian invasion in late March. The city has not only a symbolic meaning, but also a strategic one. Because Russia still has control east of the Dnieper, even in some villages. The problem for Moscow: Many bridges over the river have been destroyed and Russian troops can only get heavy equipment from the region, if at all.

And once Kherson is back in Ukrainian hands, it will be more difficult to launch attacks across the river again. After all, while for a long time the Russians had the upper hand with artillery, now the Himar missile launchers from the West are deployed. And these can hit Russian positions and facilities very precisely.

Local situation still unclear

While it is unclear how many Russian soldiers are left in the region, a defeat would mean major losses not only in personnel, but also in military equipment. Ukraine is already fighting back with captured weapons.

Despite reports of heavy fighting, the situation in Kherson is difficult to estimate, including reports that appear to be part of a propaganda war. For example, images of the city council on which the Russian flag no longer flies spread on social media. Vladimir Putin announced an evacuation of the population.

There was also evidence of retreating troops. But that can also be a ruse. Because the Russian occupiers still have the will to persevere and also the equipment. “Their supply routes are badly damaged, but apparently not cut off: he was surprised by the firepower the Russians still have, says a Ukrainian scout after recent clashes,” writes the Mirror about the situation in the region.

The Ukrainian leadership does not want to believe that the Russians are secretly withdrawing from the strategically important city. “The Russians have deployed their best troops, no one has withdrawn,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera.

The American Institute for the Study of War, which analyzes the war situation on a daily basis, sees the Russian army facing serious problems. “Russian forces are creating conditions for a controlled withdrawal from the northwestern Kherson region, to prevent a disorderly escape from the right (western) bank of the Dnipro River. Russian troops will likely have to conduct a combat retreat to prevent Ukrainian troops from chasing them to the left (east) bank.”

Russia appears to want to limit its own damage and inflict many casualties on the Ukrainian army before withdrawing. It remains to be seen whether important facilities will also be destroyed. There were rumors about the Dnipro dam in Nowa Kakhovka, about 80 kilometers upstream from the center of Kherson. The Kremlin recently accused Kiev of wanting to blow up the dam, raising fears that Russia was planning to do just that.

On October 18, the occupiers called for the city to be evacuated due to massive shelling from the Ukrainian side. According to official information, 80,000 people have already left the Kherson region. Ukraine speaks of kidnapping people.

In the disputed parts of the region, 170,000 people are said to have remained who have so far not been willing or able to flee. According to unverifiable information from the Russian Defense Ministry, about 5,000 people are taken to safety across the Dnipro River in boats and over a pontoon bridge every day. ((t-online,dpa,wan ))

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