Ukrainian troops are trying to push back Russian forces along the Dnipro River in southern Kherson region, the military said on Wednesday, calling for operational “quietness” along the front line, where the situation is “quite volatile,” Reuters reported.

On Tuesday, Ukraine said it had established a bridgehead on the east bank of the large Russian-occupied Dnipro River, confirming for the first time an offensive that could open a new line of attack on occupied Crimea.

“On the front line, which stretches along the Dnieper… the pressure from our side is on a line from 3 to 8 km, along the entire bank,” said Nataliya Humenyuk, a carrier of the commandant’s office in the south. .

“For now, we will ask to remain silent about the information… which will allow us to report great successes later,” she said on Ukrainian television.

Reuters says it was unable to independently verify Kyiv’s information.

Volodymyr Saldo, a Russian-appointed official, said Moscow’s army blocked Ukrainian forces crossing the eastern bank of the river and rained “hellfire” on them.

A Ukrainian advance on the Russian-controlled side of the Dnieper, a formidable natural barrier, would be a major setback for Russian occupation forces on the western side of the 1,000-kilometer front line, Reuters notes.

Kyiv knows “how to win”

The Russians have largely contained Kyiv’s counteroffensive in the southeast, but an advance into the occupied Kherson region could weaken their defenses and increase pressure.

“Despite everything, the Defense Forces of Ukraine have gained a foothold on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnieper,” Andrii Yermak, head of the Administration of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi, said on Tuesday.

The official noted that the Ukrainian counteroffensive, launched in June, is “developing” and Kyiv knows “how to achieve victory.”

Last week, the Russian military announced that its forces had thwarted Ukraine’s attempt to establish a beachhead on the east coast and nearby islands, inflicting heavy casualties.

Yermak made the remarks during a trip to the United States, a key Kyiv ally that has provided vital military aid since the 2022 invasion, although questions are now being raised about the sustainability of that aid.

Moscow transfers troops to “more advantageous positions”

Careful not to jeopardize any of its operations, Kyiv was eager to demonstrate its successes on the battlefield after the much-vaunted counteroffensive had repulsed only a few villages and no major population centers.

Russian troops captured the Kherson region in the early days of the invasion in February 2022, but withdrew from the city of Kherson, the regional capital, and other positions on the west bank of the river a year ago.

In a highly unusual incident on Monday, two Russian state news agencies issued warnings that Moscow was moving troops to “more favorable positions” east of the river, a phrase it has used in the past to describe troop withdrawals.

The agencies quickly denied this information, which the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation called false.