The advance of the Ukrainian armed forces on Kherson aggravates the situation of Moscow’s units in the region. Satellite images near the city now show a camouflaged pontoon bridge over the Dnieper. Does Russia want to evacuate its troops?
In southern Ukraine, Russian troops have built a pontoon bridge near the occupied city of Cherson. Satellite images verified by ntv.de show a construction in the shadow of the Antonivka Bridge. The recordings are from October 18th. Accordingly, the crossing was built within a very short time under the protection of the damaged concrete bridge. Safety expert Tim Ehrhart tweeted two satellite photos showing a barge bringing the final pieces of the pontoon into position. Other photos are also circulating online, showing the moored floating bridge in the shadow of the Antonivka Bridge from a side perspective.
The secret construction of a well-camouflaged replacement bridge raises numerous questions: For the Russian forces in the region, the situation is becoming increasingly precarious as a result of the Ukrainian counter-offensive that has been going on for weeks. The night before there was suddenly talk of an “evacuation” of the civilian population, and in the morning the occupation authorities announced their complete withdrawal from the city.
The extent of the Russian withdrawal is still unclear. For example, head of administration Vladimir Saldo announced that the Russian army would fight “to the death” in Cherson. Yesterday, the new Russian commander-in-chief in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, spoke of a difficult situation in the front section. “We will act prudently and in good time, and we will not rule out difficult decisions,” the general said on television. He did not give details.
Kherson is located on the west bank of the Dnipro River. This makes defending the city more difficult for Moscow’s military planners. Supplies and reinforcements first have to be brought across the river, which is a good 940 meters wide at the height of the Antonivka Bridge. In recent weeks, Ukrainian artillery has repeatedly fired on the Russian-held crossings over the Dnipro, including the strategically important Antonivka Bridge near Kherson.
Since the end of July, Russia has therefore resorted to a ferry system to supply its troops on the western bank. Moscow could use the pontoon bridge that has now been erected to transport heavy military equipment to the front on the west bank or evacuate troops from the bridgehead to the east bank.
According to Austrian colonel and military expert Markus Reisner, the Kherson counteroffensive is more important for Ukraine than operations in the east of the country. In the event of a possible failure, the Russians could launch new attacks from the bridgehead on the western bank of the Dnipro in the spring and try to make Ukraine a landlocked country, Reisner told ntv.
Security expert Carlo Masala made a similar statement. “If Ukraine were to recapture Cherson, they would send the Russians back across the Dnipro,” Masala said recently in the “Stern” podcast “Ukraine – the situation”. “Russia could then not create a land bridge between the East and the South down to the Crimea. At the same time, the conquest of Odessa would become almost completely impossible.” For the Russian armed forces, this would result in a “massive defeat” that “can no longer be kept secret at home”.
