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In a highly unusual incident, two Russian state news agencies published alerts saying Moscow was moving troops to \u201cmore favourable positions\u201d east of the Dnipro River in Ukraine this week, only to withdraw the information minutes later.<\/p>\n
Russia has previously used similar phrasing about moving troops to more advantageous positions in order to describe retreats.<\/p>\n
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Members of Ukraine\u2019s 56th Brigade fire an anti-aircraft gun in the Bakhmut District of Ukraine. <\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n President Volodymyr Zelensky\u2019s chief of staff said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces have secured a foothold on the east bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine.<\/p>\n Andriy Yermak\u2019s remarks were the first official acknowledgement that Ukrainian troops were established on the Dnipro\u2019s east bank in Kherson region.<\/p>\n \u201cAgainst all odds, Ukraine\u2019s Defence Forces have gained a foothold on the left (east) bank of the Dnipro,\u201d Yermak said in an address to the Hudson Institute think-tank in the United States. The remarks were posted on Zelensky\u2019s website.<\/p>\n \u201cStep by step, they are demilitarising Crimea. We have covered 70 per cent of the distance. And our counteroffensive is developing.\u201d<\/p>\n Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of the Ukrainian Presidential Office.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Reuters<\/cite><\/p>\n Russian forces seized Kherson region in the early days of their February 2022 invasion of Ukraine but late last year abandoned the regional capital \u2013 also called Kherson \u2013 and the Dnipro\u2019s west bank. They have since shelled Kherson and other towns from new positions on the east bank.<\/p>\n As Ukraine\u2019s four-month-old counteroffensive secures only incremental gains, Ukrainian officials have been cautious in describing the activities of their forces on the east bank.<\/p>\n A military spokesperson this month said \u201cnot bad results\u201d had been achieved on the east bank in forcing Russian troops to reposition. Unofficial accounts have noted Ukrainian advances.<\/p>\n Russia\u2019s military said last week its forces had thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to forge a bridgehead on the eastern bank and on nearby islands, killing around 500 Ukrainian soldiers. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield claim.<\/p>\n In his address to the Hudson Institute, Yermak said the only certainty was that Russia had no intention of stopping the war, but hoped \u201cto outlast and out-endure the unity of democracies\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need weapons right now. Russia still has air superiority,\u201d he told the gathering.<\/p>\n \u201cIt still is capable of producing missiles due to circumvention of sanctions. Not to mention the Iranian drones and North Korean artillery rounds.\u201d<\/p>\n On Monday, in a series of three alerts, Russia\u2019s RIA state news agency said the command of Russia\u2019s Dnepr group of forces had decided to relocate troops to \u201cmore favourable positions\u201d east of the Dnipro.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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