Kyiv/Moscow, Nov 6 (EFE).- Ukrainian troops have made advances on the left bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region, while fighting is intensifying on the eastern front, where Russian forces are relentless in their attempts to encircle Avdiivka, one of the Ukrainian strongholds in the Donetsk region.
According to the latest report from the US-based think tank Institute for the Study of War, geolocated imagery shows that Ukrainian forces have advanced southeast of the village of Pidtepen, about three kilometers from the left bank of the Dnieper.
Further east, on the same bank of the river, about two kilometers from the shore, Ukrainian troops have gained a strong foothold near the village of Krynky, according to ISW experts.
The goal to drive out Russian artillery
With these actions the Ukrainian military is trying to drive the Russian artillery away from the banks of the Dnieper River, from where it fires mortars at the city of Kherson, the capital of the region of the same name, which the Ukrainian army recaptured a year ago after the withdrawal of Russian troops.
The deterioration of the situation in the Kherson region, annexed by Russia, was confirmed by the regional governor installed by Russia, Vladimir Saldo, who on Monday ordered the extension of the curfew imposed last November.
As of Tuesday, the curfew will be in force between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. local time, while until Monday it was in effect between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, over the past day its troops have repelled five attempts by Ukrainian forces to land on the right bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region.
Avdiivka resists advance of Russian troops On the eastern front, Russian forces backed by air support continue their attempts to encircle Avdiivka, a town just ten kilometers from Donetsk, the capital of the region of the same name, which has been held by pro-Russian separatists since 2014.
“Ukrainian soldiers are firmly holding the defensive lines and inflicting significant losses on the enemy,” the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a statement on Monday.
Although Russian troops have been trying to close the encirclement of Avdiivka for several weeks, all of their efforts to cut the corridor through which the defenders receive supplies, which is just over ten kilometers wide, have been unsuccessful.
Ukraine prepares for winter of shelling
Ukrainian military intelligence (GUR) warned on Monday that Russia is waiting for winter to arrive and temperatures to drop below zero to launch a new massive shelling campaign against Ukraine’s energy system.
“Most likely, they will start when there is a greater load on our energy system, which creates more favorable conditions for attacks,” General Vadim Skibitsky, one of the GUR’s top officials, said today.
According to an estimate published by the GUR, Russia currently has a total of 870 high-precision missiles.
Thanks to supplies from its Western partners, Ukraine now has far more anti-aircraft defenses than it did when Russia first attacked its energy system in the fall of last year. But many areas of the country remain vulnerable to Russia’s missile and drone arsenal.
“We are preparing for the worst winter in history. So we’ll turn a blind eye if we don’t get the Taurus (German cruise missiles), but we do get air defense systems,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba told the German news outlet Welt. EFE
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