In Kherson, Ukrainians and Russians fight over the “grey zone” of the Dnieper
At the level of the city of Kherson, the wide river divides into multiple arms forming a semi-swampy delta. From a sharp front line upstream, the Dnieper becomes porous and harder to control. If it can freeze in the north of the country, this is not the case in Kherson, where the more temperate climate very rarely experiences periods of frost long enough to freeze its course.
“We have learned that a group of thirty Russian snipers has just been deployed on the other side. They are well trained and equipped. They operate on the bank, which makes a 2 kilometer strip in front of them very dangerous. Two days ago we lost a drone pilot, shot down by a Russian sniper 2 kilometers away”deplores Valeriy Borovyk, 50, a member of Ukrainian military counterintelligence.
“In theory, the river is the front line, but there is this gray area in the middle, where both civilians and reconnaissance groups circulate on both sides. Of course, both of them disguise themselves as civilians to carry out reconnaissance missions »explains this sporty man, who, in civilian life, runs a company manufacturing combat drones.
The logistical problem exists in both directions, tempers a Ukrainian officer who prefers to remain anonymous: “Shelling their positions on the other bank is easy, carrying out night raids with small boats, we do that too. That is why the Russians fortified several echelon defense lines away from the Dnieper. On the other hand, it is too risky to launch an amphibious operation with heavy equipment, which would be immediately pounded. »