Current Ukrainian actions on the east (left) bank of Kherson Oblast appear to be larger than previously observed tactical raids, ISW reported in its daily report.
Geolocated footage indicates that Ukrainian forces maintain a presence along the shoreline and near the Antonivsky railway bridge despite Russian counterattacks, ISW says.
According to the report, Russian sources offer slightly diverging claims about the scale of the Ukrainian attacks on the east bank of Kherson Oblast.
The prominent Russian milblogger claimed on 19 October that two Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups of a Ukrainian naval infantry brigade crossed the Dnipro River, overwhelmed the Russian troops in the area, and gained a foothold in the village of Krynky (30km east of Kherson City and about 2km inland from the Dnipro River shoreline).
The milblogger claimed that Russian infantry counterattacked and pushed Ukrainian forces back towards the outskirts of the village but noted that Ukrainian troops still control some houses in Krynky and are waiting for reinforcements to arrive in the area.
Another Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces used more manpower in attacks on Krynky than in previous attacks.
Several Russian sources, including Kherson Oblast occupation head Vladimir Saldo, claimed that Russian forces managed to push Ukrainian forces back from the Poyma-Pishchanivka-Pidstepne area (15km east of Kherson City) to the Dnipro River shoreline and to positions under the Antonivsky railway bridge. They claimed that Ukrainian forces were trying to rest and regroup under constant Russian air and artillery strikes there.
The Ukrainian General Staff also reported on 19 October that Russian airstrikes hit Pishchanivka, implying Ukrainian forces were operating in the town.
Other takeaways from the ISW’s report:
- Satellite imagery published on October 18 suggests that the Ukrainian ATACMS strike on the Luhansk City airfield likely damaged several helicopters on October 17.
- Ukrainian officials reported on October 19 that Ukrainian forces have downed five Russian fixed wing aircraft within the past 10 days in Donetsk Oblast amid high Russian ground vehicle losses near Avdiivka.
- Ukrainian forces reportedly advanced south of Bakhmut and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast amid continued counteroffensive operations on October 19.
- Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui in Pyongyang, North Korea on October 19, likely part of an ongoing Russian effort to procure additional munitions from North Korea.
- Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, around Avdiivka, south of Donetsk City, in the Donetsk-Zaporizhzhia Oblast border area, and in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast and advanced in some areas.
- A Russian federal subject is attempting to compensate for labor shortages in its defense sector by spearheading an initiative to allow some minors to work in hazardous conditions.
Read also:
- British intel: Ukraine’s strikes at Berdiansk and Luhansk airfields reduce Russia’s capabilities at the front
- Russian strikes on east bank of Dnipro in Kherson Oblast hint at Ukrainian presence
- Frontline report: Ukraine gains bridgehead, reclaims two villages in Kherson Oblast on Dnipro
