On the battlefield in Kherson, the Ukrainian Army is moving forward swiftly, but are they about to stumble into a Russian army ambush?
Russian and Ukrainian media are reporting that the Ukrainian counteroffensive operation in Kherson has officially started. Russian troops are thought to number around 40,000 overall in the Kherson region, according to a source that the Ukrainian side made public a few days ago. In this situation, Moscow has declared that all operating personnel will be withdrawn from Kherson due to the front there being “extremely problematic” at the moment. And it appears that “Russian troops withdraw, Ukrainian troops attack fiercely to re-swarm Kherson” is the direction that everything is going, but is that really what is happening?
Natalia Khumenyuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military, told CNN on November 6 that the Ukrainian military had unexpectedly learned that Russian forces in the Kherson region had not left as they had announced, but had instead declared the area to be the “ambush” battleground. There are still numerous Russian military forces stationed in Kherson, according to Ukrainian and Western intelligence; these units are armed with a variety of heavy weapons in addition to many other unexpected finds. In addition to spotting Russian troops “ambushing” in Kherson, Ukraine also found that elite Russian units had set up positions next to Kherson on the right bank of the Dnieper River, where they could offer the troops direct support Russian military activity in the left bank city of Kherson.
Despite this, the Russian military is presently planning a “big game” in the area. Although they ostensibly declared that they were evacuating Kherson, they actually left heavy troops behind and deployed them on the other side of the Dnieper. The Russian Army is now constructing fire support positions, so if the Ukrainian army enters Kherson, it will be able to attack from both sides and severely harm or even completely destroy the Ukrainian army.
In fact, it is important to carefully evaluate the Russian military’s actions in Kherson; for instance, the Russian military command and Russian media have frequently stated that they will withdraw from Kherson, and the Russian army has begun to show signs of doing so. The outside world currently believes that the Russian army is about to leave due to social media and Western media. It’s understandable why Kherson governments and civilians have fled, but it’s not that easy.
Strategically, the Russian army has just received 300,000 new recruits; now is the time for a victory to boost the spirit of the entire force and win back the Kremlin’s trust. If Kherson were to be completely abandoned, it would be a blow to the army’s morale. The outcome of Operation Kherson will have an impact on how the Russian-Ukrainian conflict plays out overall. If the Ukrainian army prevails, the Crimean peninsula and even eastern Ukraine could be in danger.
The only part of the west bank of the Dnipro River that is under Russian control is where the city of Kherson is situated. Since the beginning of October, retaking this city has been a key objective in Ukraine’s counteroffensive operation to the south. Before the G20 summit, which will take place in Indonesia on November 15 and 16, information about President Zelensky ordering the recapture of Kherson at all costs surfaced online, according to a source from the Office of the President of Ukraine.
