Ukrainian forces are planning a long and brutal campaign to retake most of the Russian-controlled Kherson region by the end of the year, CNN reports, The Guardian reports.

Since the counteroffensive began last week, Ukrainian forces have made gains in the south with ambitious ground assaults after sustained attacks on command posts, ammunition depots and fuel stocks far behind the front lines, according to geolocation video and satellite imagery. .

According to a senior US official, the US has seen Ukraine succeed in attacking Russian supply lines with the intention of stopping and isolating Russian forces currently deployed west of the Dnipro River.

“What we primarily saw in the Kherson region was some continuous offensive operations by Ukrainians,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder told reporters. “They continue their offensive. We know that they recaptured some villages.”

According to Ukrainian officials, the goal is to occupy at least the entire territory north or west of the Dnieper, including not only the city of Kherson, but also Nova Kakhovka. In Novaya Kakhovka, there is a large hydroelectric power plant, as well as a canal that supplies most of the water to the Crimea.

At the same time, Ukraine has stepped up attacks in the east of the country to prevent Russia from pushing forces south to try to repel a Ukrainian counteroffensive there, according to U.S. officials.

Ukraine’s goal to return Kherson by the end of 2022 is ambitious, but possible, US representatives said.

Expenses for the Kherson offensive operation

However, Ukrainian soldiers wounded during the counteroffensive in Kherson told The Washington Post reporters about the huge cost of combat for the Ukrainian military, noting that in some cases they lost 5 people for every Russian soldier killed.

“For every one lost, we lost five,” says 30-year-old platoon commander Igor, who was injured when his platoon fell into a defensive ditch.

However, all interviewed Ukrainian military personnel claim that no matter how bloody the battles are, there is no other alternative.

“If we don’t stop them, they will continue to rape and kill our people, as they did everywhere,” says Oleksandr’s roommate, a 49-year-old conscript whose knee was shattered by shrapnel.

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How the Ukrainian army took advantage of the counteroffensive in the Kherson region to win back new territories in another region – ISV analysis