Shoigu tried to suppress hysteria over the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ operations on the left bank of the Dnieper, – ISW

Russian military correspondents tirelessly expose the failures of their occupation army in the Kherson direction.

The Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian political elite are making efforts to suppress hysteria over Ukrainian operations on the left bank of the Kherson region.

This is discussed in a new report from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Analysts drew attention to the statements made by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu speaking at the board of the department he heads. He said that Russian troops had obstructed all Ukrainian attempts to conduct successful “landing operations in the Kherson direction.” And he added that the Russians are inflicting “colossal” losses on the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Analysts have suggested that Shoigu’s statement is an attempt to downplay concerns among some Russian military commanders about the Russians’ inability to decisively repel Ukrainian attacks on the eastern bank of the Dnieper. But, as the Institute emphasized, he is unlikely to be able to calm the growing complaints in the Russian information space.

Russian military bloggers continue to acknowledge the Ukrainian presence on the left bank of the Kherson region and complain that Russian troops are unable to suppress Ukrainian operations in the area.

Analysts cited data that on November 21, one of the Russian military commanders said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed an entire Russian assault group near Krynki (30 km northeast of Kherson and 2 km from the Dnieper River). And on November 17, a Russian insider source said that as a result of the Ukrainian strike, 76 Russians were eliminated in the 1st battalion of the 35th Motorized Rifle Brigade (41st Combined Arms Army of the Central Military District), who were trying to carry out a “diversionary maneuver” in the Skadovsky district.

At the same time, according to various sources, the occupiers in this direction are sending the wounded to the assaults. The occupiers have no reconnaissance drones, which slows their progress, and no fire support.

There is also evidence that Russian units practically do not interact in the Kherson direction, that the headquarters of the Russian command is making unsuccessful plans because it receives incorrect and belated information.

It appears that these criticisms are not affecting Shoigu, as ISW is not seeing any significant changes in the Kherson direction.

At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue operations on the left bank of the Kherson region and are moving forward.

War in Ukraine: news

The formation of bridgeheads of the Ukrainian Defense Forces on the left bank of the Kherson region has baffled the Russian command. In addition, not everything is so rosy for the invaders in the Avdeevka area , where they have transferred considerable resources.

Russian invaders are “squeezing out” apartments abandoned by their owners in occupied Tokmak, Zaporozhye region . Moreover, they are exclusively looking for housing with heating in order to accommodate the personnel of the Russian Armed Forces there.

(C)UNIAN 2023