A month ago, the Russian army left the city of Kherson, the only large city in southern Ukraine conquered since its invasion at the end of February. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky then spoke of the “beginning of the end of the war”. Still, the soldiers from Moscow did not go far. They have just changed banks, on the other side of the Dnieper, the great river that borders Kherson.
From the Antonivsky bridge, the only crossing point between the two banks before being destroyed during the withdrawal, they can be seen through binoculars 400 meters away. From the great staircase of the Slavy park which descends towards the waters of the Dnieper, one does not see a living soul on the islands which separate the two banks. From the port of Kherson, where a ship is half-sunken, all that can be seen on the other side is a crane and a few uninhabited houses. But the sound of detonations reminds us that the Russians are there.
Strategy puzzle
Since their withdrawal to the other side of the river, the Ukrainian military authorities have been wondering about the strategy to follow. Crossing the Dnieper is no small feat. Since the destruction of the Antonivsky Bridge, the nearest crossing is 70 kilometers to the east. At Kherson, the river becomes an estuary and leads to the nearby Black Sea. Several kilometers wide, it is divided into secondary arms, real rivers that meander between strips of land dotted with vegetation, country houses and small lakes. A strategic puzzle and a natural barrier difficult to cross when it is necessary to pass men and heavy vehicles.
On their bank, the Ukrainian soldiers also remain under cover for fear of snipers and bombardments. On December 4, Druzhby Street, which runs along Slavy Park, the side of a building was blown up by a missile, without causing any casualties. 100 meters away, all the windows of the university library, which overlooks the Dnieper, were blown by the explosions. The inhabitants take the precaution of circumventing the park so as not to be the target of snipers, as they flee the approaches to the Antonivsky bridge. Kherson fears missiles, artillery, mortars, but also simple rifles.
On December 5, in a building in the port, a member of the regional administration came to wait for three small motorboats coming from the other side. On board, ten people who had retired to one of the many summer and weekend houses located on the islands separating the two banks, to avoid crossing paths with the Russians during the occupation or to stay away. away from war. Now, on the front line, they are trapped.
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