Frontline report: Ukrainian forces push 1 km deeper into Kherson forest

Day 642 On 28 November, there was a lot of news from the Kherson Oblast. Here, Ukrainian forces successfully expanded their bridgehead around Krynky and started deploying reinforcements to secure the newly gained territories.

The main goal of Ukrainian forces right now is to push deeper into the forest. The forest will not only provide better cover for Ukrainians but also allow them to entrench, thereby establishing a tighter hold on the ground. In order to gain the first foothold, as reported previously, Ukrainians conducted a series of attacks along the settlement to secure their flanks and then assaulted Russian positions in the forest.

The updates suggest that Russians tried to take back some parts of the residential area that they lost over the last week when Ukrainians were securing their flanks.

Ukrainian fighters from the famous Madiar’s Birds Detachment released a video showing how a Russian armoured fighting vehicle assumed a firing position and was targeting Ukrainians. The drone crew reacted immediately, and in less than 90 seconds, the armoured fighting vehicle was destroyed. Ukrainian fighters also released combat forage of how they were destroying Russian assault units at night with heavy assault drones Baba Yaga. One Russian soldier recorded a video showing the aftermath of the strike from Baba Yaga. The shrapnel penetrated the top part of the vehicle, and left holes in the hatch, however, did not burn it down. Another video shows a less lucky tank that was completely destroyed in the aftermath of the strike. Ukrainians also continued exerting indirect control over the Russian ground lines of communication in the region.

Ukrainian drone operators showed how they caught on the move a Russian truck fully loaded with ammunition. Madiar said that this was not the only destroyed truck and that, usually, they destroy multiple vehicles on the roads per day. Russian sources once again raised concerns about Russian forces’ weak capabilities on the east bank. Russian analysts reported that they recently received a lot of messages from the personnel of the Russian Seventieth Motorized Rifle Division that complained about the vulnerability of Russian logistics near Krynky to Ukrainian drone strikes. The Institute for the Study of War assessed the situation and concluded that Russian forces near Krynky are suffering from problems, such as insufficient fire support, unit coordination, electronic warfare, counterbattery, and air defense. In fact, on 27 November, Russian soldiers who were fighting in Krynky posted a video saying that their commanders were insane. They said that they had been actively fighting for 4 months without rotation. They complained that their commander, Colonel Oleksandr Vladko, continuously lied about the stability of the situation, and because the high command believed him, they did not allocate more troops and ammunition to the Kherson front. As a result, 80% of people from their battalion are killed or wounded, and they also have to ration their ammunition. The last straw for the Russians was the order to assault Ukrainian islands. They refused the order and said that they would only go on this suicide operation if the Coloner Vladko himself led them into the battle. While Russian forces tried to return their positions within the settlement, Ukrainians successfully advanced deeper into the forest and entrenched themselves. The freshest reports suggest that the proximate half of a kilometer is under firm Ukrainian control, while the additional half of a kilometer is a contested area. Right now, the weather conditions in the Kherson Oblast have deteriorated, and both parties have very limited reconnaissance capabilities. Russian sources reported that they observed active movement of Ukrainian forces on the islands but, due to the bad weather, could not identify what Ukrainians were doing exactly. Russian analysts speculated and claimed that Ukrainians would try to take advantage of the bad weather and bring in even more ammunition and personnel because Russians could not prevent it from happening. If Ukrainians indeed reinforce the region to conduct a new wave of attacks and advance by 1 more kilometer, they will physically cut the only paved highway along the river bank that connects Russian forces in the north and south.

In our daily frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Read also:

• Frontline report: Ukrainian forces tactically withdraw, set trap for advancing Russians
• British intel: Russia secures minor gains near Avdiivka at heavy cost
• Russian strike kills 63-year-old man in Dnipro Oblast, injuring two elderly women