The village of Krynkai, located opposite the large city of Kherson, was first captured by Ukrainian troops during a dramatic river crossing operation in 2023. in the middle of October.
The DeepState Project, which is affiliated with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, reported that the more than seven-month presence of Ukrainian forces in the area was ended last week.
Ukrainian troops moved in small boats to the Kyiv-controlled right bank of the Dnieper and reached friendly positions near the city of Kherson, other news reports said. No significant Russian interference in the evacuation was reported.
Krynky and the swampy, swampy terrain around it have been widely reported in the Ukrainian media as the scene of months of fierce but successful defensive battles between elite Ukrainian marines, supported by ubiquitous drones, against outnumbered Russian forces with overwhelming firepower. place
There were no direct references to the withdrawal from Krynki in the official statements of the Ukrainian military on Tuesday. However, a report by state media Suspilne Novyni confirmed that the village had been abandoned “several weeks ago”.
On Wednesday, the Ukrainian military chief of staff’s daily situation report stated that Kyiv troops were still present and holding positions on the left bank of the Dnieper near the village of Kozachi Laheri near Krynkai.
On Tuesday, Russian forces attempted one attack on Kozachi Laheri, which failed, the official said. The Ukrainian army last reported a ground battle in Krynkai on July 11.
Soldiers and volunteers covering fighting in the area have reported fewer than 200 fighters in recent months, according to The Kyiv Post. Most members of the Ukrainian Marine Corps, along with a small number of volunteers from the Territorial Defense Unit, have been holding out in Krynkai since March.
For months, fighting Ukrainians could only get food and ammunition and evacuate the wounded in small boats targeted by Russian drones.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi/Telegram/War in Ukraine
“The fact that Kyiv abandoned the village of Krynkai marks a possible end to months of attempts by Ukrainian forces to hold and expand the liberated territory,” the article reads.
The Ukrainian army has tactical equipment, including NATO-standard assault bridges, donated by Germany. In the more than six months since the capture of the village of Krynkai, the top Ukrainian commanders have not once attempted to build bridges across the Dnieper River, a major water barrier the size of the Rhine River.
Military analysts cited by The Kyiv Post say any attempt to move across the river would have been destroyed by Russian air force bombers, which mostly operate freely in the airspace over the Kherson sector.
For months, the Russian Air Force’s powerful hover bombs have been pounding Marine positions with near-impunity, as Ukraine’s air defenses in the sector are too weak and lack long-range weapons to thwart Russian airstrikes on the forward bridgehead.
As a result of Russian aerial bombardment and ground attacks on Ukrainian positions, the village of Krynkai, once a pleasantly green coastal hamlet of around 200 individual family homes and cottages, was almost completely razed to the ground.
Reuters/Scanpix/War in Ukraine
According to Russian reports, fighting continued in the lowlands of the Dnieper River near Kherson. Most of the fighting was infantry skirmishes in a maze of low-lying islands and canals, but Russian air force strikes continued, the pro-Russian military blog Dva Majora reported on Wednesday.
Official, Kremlin-controlled information platforms in March. announced that the entire left and south banks of the Dnieper River had been cleared of Ukrainian forces, prompting outrage from military bloggers who said it was fake news and that Ukrainian marines were still holed up there.
Source: www.15min.lt
