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November 29, 2022


Russian troops entrenched

After withdrawing from the regional capital of Kherson to the opposite bank of the Dnieper, the Russian army is making great efforts to prevent a Ukrainian advance on the annexed Crimean peninsula.

Satellite imagery from the east bank of the Dnieper from Maxar Technologies shows numerous dug trenches, anti-tank obstacles and fortifications along roads to Crimea and the annexed south-eastern territories.

According to the American think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Russian army is thus creating the conditions for a protracted defense in the eastern Cherson region and expects Ukrainian troops to cross the Dnieper.

Destroying the Antonivka Bridge was intended to make advancing towards the Crimea more difficult.

For the military experts at the ISW, however, the effectiveness of the defense systems is limited.

Many of the positions would have open flanks ending in the middle of open squares.

In addition, the facilities are not within tactical support distance of each other, making them vulnerable to Ukrainian tactical encirclement attacks.

omer.

November 11, 2022


Russians withdraw from Kherson

After the rapid and extremely successful counter-offensive by Ukraine in the east of the country, the Ukrainian army was also able to achieve success in southern Ukraine.

Faced with pressure from Ukrainian forces, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu announced Russia's withdrawal from the city of Kherson and surrounding areas northwest of the Dnipro River.

Kherson fell into Russian hands at the beginning of the war and has since been the only occupied regional capital.

After the Russian army withdrew, Ukrainian forces advanced into the center of the city and were greeted with chants by the population.

The Russian troops, meanwhile, retreated to the opposite side of the Dnieper and destroyed the strategically important Antonivka Bridge as they retreated.

Against the background of military defeats in the east and south, Russia has been targeting Ukraine's civilian infrastructure since October.

By mid-November, around 50 percent of the network had been destroyed by rocket and cruise missile attacks on substations, power transformers and routes in metropolitan areas.

Millions of people across the country are without electricity.

In the big cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Dnipro, the lights go out by the hour.

omer.