Today, there are a lot of updates from the Kherson direction.
Here, the Ukrainians continue to create problems for the Russians across the Dnipro River by using every opportunity to win back territory and establish new footholds. The latest stunning move by the Ukrainian forces was the liberation of the island of Nestryga.
Nestryga is one of the largest islands in the delta of the Dnipro River, southwest of Kherson City, and plays an important tactical role due to its location. This fact was confirmed by the Ukrainian South Defence Forces spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk who stated that there are several important reasons behind this move. Firstly, the liberation of the island will greatly improve the quality of counter-sabotage measures. Secondly, it plays an important part in the Ukrainian strategy in the region to portion battles by dividing Russian attention from the bridgehead in Krynky, which will offload pressure from Ukrainian forces there. Thirdly, it holds significant tactical importance because it prevents the enemy from approaching Ukrainian positions on their side of the river, and it’s the last island near the enemy’s shore.
The first stage of the battle for the island started with the Ukrainian forces using the village of Velykanske, recaptured back in autumn 2022 during the counter-offensive, as a starting point from which they crossed the river at dawn using the darkness as cover, which can be seen from the published geolocated video of Ukrainian fighters. The liberation was confirmed publicly by the Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Oleksandr Syrsky, which marked the second stage of the battle for the island. Russians tried to surprise Ukrainians before their operation was completed with fierce attacks, which started with mass shelling of the islands and continued with attempts to land their forces to engage Ukrainian troops on the ground.
Ukrainians were expecting this and used the night to their advantage by not only moving more troops and supplies to the island but also by targeting Russian forces on the other side of the river with mortar fire and drones in order to disrupt their counterattacks. As you probably remember, Russians are struggling in this part of the frontline due to the lack of electronic warfare capabilities and drones. One Russian military blogger called this a fatal problem for their troops in this direction.
Geolocated footage from one Russian landing attempt confirms this statement. A Russian motorboat carrying around 10 soldiers was moving at high speed on the river but was monitored by a Ukrainian surveillance drone. Shortly after, it was hit by an FPV drone, which drowned the boat, and the impact sent the crew flying into the water.
The images of the aftermath show an interesting fact: how dense the air in the region is and how dangerous it is for both sides to conduct this move across. If you look more carefully, you can see two other drones hovering above the scene of the successful Ukrainian hit and looking for possible Russian survivors to finish off.
Due to all these high-cost attempts by the Russians, the Institute for the Study of War stated that even though Russian sources claimed that the island is in the grey zone, all their attempts have been rebuffed by heavy Ukrainian fire, and the attackers are suffering significant losses. This situation forced the Russians to intensify their counterbattery efforts in the region with all available means, including conducting guided glide bomb strikes on the west bank of the Dnipro River and targeting Ukrainian assets with Lancet drones like in this geolocated video, which shows the destruction of a Ukrainian M777 howitzer.
This paved the way for the fourth stage of the battle for the Nestryga island. A Russian source claimed that the usual seasonally high water levels are complicating any offensive operations, which led to Russian forces trying a dangerous approach by using jet skis to reach the island to leverage their superior speed, but this again didn’t lead to any success. In the rare cases when they managed to get to the shore, they were quickly spotted and eliminated by the Ukrainians, as can be seen in this combat footage.
Of course that is great news! More crucial work to be done.
Related topic :
From RFE/RL. March 5, 2023:
Mykolayiv Region: Kinburn Peninsula
“Before February 2022, the Kinburn Peninsula, a strategic promontory between the Black Sea and the Dnieper-Buh estuary, was known for its more than 60 hectares of wild red orchids, its ponds and lakes, and millions of migratory birds.
Since the invasion, repeat fires have transformed that identity.
In June 2022, Russian forces gained control of the Kinburn Spit, a finger of land that sticks out from the peninsula between the Black Sea and the Dnieper River. Since then, constant large-scale fires from fighting have affected the Kinburn Spit Regional Landscape Park, the Volyzhyn Forest area, which is part of the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve, and the Svyatoslav Biloberezhzhia National Nature Park.
Schemes has reported about a Russian brigade of so-called Don Cossacks shelling the nearby Ukrainian-held town of Ochakiv and other population areas from the Kinburn Spit.
Satellite footage shows burned areas along almost the entire peninsula.”
It is still occupied by vermin; the only part of Mykolaiv oblast I think.
Why hasn’t this been prioritized?
Several attempts were made, but not sure what challenges the task required to overcome. At one point I thought they would split it, cutting off rashist forces, then tighten the noose. But apparently there were complications.
Ukraine doesn’t hace the necessary landing boats to conduct and supply a landing at Kinburn Spit, Scradge. This prevents other large scale operations on the Russian side of the Dnepr, too. To be brutally honest, if the situation north of Kharkiv is as dire as Budanov paints it, I do think the Ukrainian elite troops should be called back from the Dnepr bridgehead and sent to Kharkiv’s defence. To hold that city got to have priority now. ☹
Well, of course the troop buildup at Kharkiv resulted in the Russian frontline being stretched thin in some other places. This can be expmoited by the AFU now. However, at the Kherson frontline there’s rather small scale action and Ukraine doesn’t have the means for a strong offensive, with heavy weapons, across the Dnepr. So, sorry, I don’t believe a fight about an island or two will result in a relief for the defenders of Kharkiv. The situation there is concerning. ☹