According to an analysis by the ISW experts, it has long been clear that Russian troops would have difficulties in holding captured territory in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson. In order to route their opponents on the Dnipro, Ukrainian troops used innovative techniques.
According to experts at the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the use of HIMARS rocket launchers played a decisive role in the success of the Ukrainian military during the recapture in the Kherson region. Ukraine made innovative use of US-supplied artillery systems to cut off supply lines, especially on bridges, to Kremlin troops. Since the supply of the 20,000 remaining Russian soldiers was severely disrupted, they finally had to retreat.
According to the ISW, the HIMARS system is actually not suitable for shelling bridges because the warheads it fires are too small for such missions. The Ukrainian military circumvented this obstacle by using the system for many smaller precision strikes that rendered roads and bridges unusable without completely destroying them. This is how Kyiv is said to have acted in attacks on both the Antonivka Bridge and the connecting road to the Kakhovka Dam.
Ukraine continued its attacks even as Russian forces attempted to restore routes. The equipment for the repairs was also shot at. According to the think tank, to avert further damage, the Russians tried to build a pontoon bridge under the Antonivka Bridge.
But their opponents of the war continued the shelling, eventually forcing Moscow to retreat around the bridge. Eventually, the Russian military had to resort to barges to transport equipment, supplies, and supplies from east to west banks of the Dnipro River. Ukraine then also attacked the ships and their docks. However, the ships would not have been sufficient to supply the 20,000 armed forces on the west bank anyway, reports the ISW.
When Sergey Surovikin took command of the Russian forces in Ukraine on October 8 this year, it was already clear that the Kremlin could not hold the parts of Cherson it occupied. At the time, Surovikin declared that he wanted to withdraw the troops there and probably already began preparing for the retreat, which took place a few weeks later.
It is not known whether Russian President Vladimir Putin approved the departure from western Cherson in October or whether Surovikin had to do intensive persuasion beforehand. Finally, on November 9, a meeting between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Putin was scheduled, at which the President gave the order for the withdrawal.
