Ukraine Crossed a Crucial River. A 'Fiery Hell' Awaits

Last month the New York Times reported on a seeming change in Ukraine's war strategy: Ukrainian forces had started crossing the Dnipro River to carry out raids on its Russian-controlled eastern bank, leading to speculation "that Kyiv might be planning a more ambitious effort to open a new front in the war." Those plans appear to be solidifying: On Tuesday, in what Reuters terms "the first official acknowledgement of its kind," President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff said troops had indeed secured a foothold on the river's eastern bank. Russia echoed that, acknowledging for the first time that Ukrainian troops had managed to cross the river—though it cautioned peril awaits.

Russian-installed governor Vladimir Saldo said, "The enemy is trapped in [the settlement of] Krynki"—located 1.25 miles inland from the river, per the BBC—"and a fiery hell has been arranged for him: bombs, rockets, heavy flamethrower systems, artillery shells, and drones." A rep for Ukraine's southern military command was scant on details, asking "for informational silence ... which would allow us to report later on great successes." Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Matthew Luxmoore describes a "precarious" situation, with forces "hunkered down in basements and trenches and heavily outnumbered." Saldo offered a similar detail, saying, "They are sitting in basements and run from one basement to another at night. In the last two or three days alone, total enemy losses have totaled about a hundred fighters."

Luxmoore terms the crossing "a rare bright spot for Kyiv," though he describes Ukraine's progress there as "costly and hard going," with one marine telling him that after reaching the eastern bank, his unit advanced just 100 yards over six days. "Russian drones constantly circle over their hastily dug trenches, coordinating artillery strikes each time they detect movement," writes Luxmoore. "As darkness falls, the Ukrainian troops use shovels to dig themselves deeper into the ground." Reuters describes what's at stake: "Russia has largely held Kyiv's counteroffensive at bay in the southeast, but an advance in occupied Kherson region could spread their defenses thinner and ratchet up pressure." (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)