According to reports, Ukrainian forces have established positions on the east bank of the Dnipro River in the southern region of Kherson.
The region is partially controlled by the Russians, and traversing the river could be crucial for future offensives.
The Institute for the Study of War in the United States asserts that Russian military bloggers have posted “enough geolocated footage and text reports to confirm” the advance.
Near the city of Kherson, BBC Ukraine’s military sources have reported a “certain movement across the Dnieper.”
Russia has denied the reports, while Ukraine has not verified the movement.
However, if the reports that Ukraine has secured a bridgehead on the eastern bank are accurate, this could be significant in aiding Kyiv’s efforts to push back Russian forces.
A Ukrainian advance in the region could, in the future, even sever the land corridor to the 2014-annexed Crimean peninsula.
However, according to military experts, any Ukrainian troop movements in the bridgehead region – which is crisscrossed with floodplains, irrigation channels, and other water obstacles – would be difficult.
Further complicating Ukrainian advances would be Russia’s substantial air superiority.
The Ukrainian military has been openly discussing preparations for a significant counteroffensive for some time without specifying where or when it could be launched.
Up until now, the entire region of Kherson on the east bank of the Dnieper has been under Russian control, the wide river acting as a natural barrier.
The regional capital, located on the west bank, was liberated by Ukrainian forces in November of last year.
Celebrations as Ukraine regains control of the crucial city of Kherson Putin visits the occupied region of Kherson in Ukraine
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on Sunday that “geolocated footage published on April 23 indicates that Ukrainian forces are operating in areas north-west of Oleshky on the east” bank of the Dnieper.
The ISW added that there was insufficient information to analyse the purported scale of the Ukrainian advance or the military’s future plans.
The Russian military blogger WarGonzo reported on Monday that Ukrainian forces were attempting to establish a foothold on Bolshoi Potemkin island, which is located between the new and old channels of the Dnieper.
Nataliya Humenyuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s South Command, neither verified nor denied reports that Ukrainian forces had secured an east bank bridgehead.
She stated on Ukrainian television that “difficult work continues.”
The spokesperson emphasised that a military operation necessitates “informational silence until it is safe for our military,”
Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed governor of the Kherson region, stated on Sunday that “there were no bridgeheads on the left [east] bank near Oleshky or anywhere else” on that side of the river.
In separate Monday developments:
Moscow’s Vnukovo airport was halted for some time due to reports of a drone in the area, according to Russian media. Russia-installed officials in Sevastopol, Crimea, reported a failed Ukrainian naval drone attack, but Kyiv has not commented.
The Ukrainian military reported that “the fiercest battles” persisted in Bakhmut and Mariinka, two key towns in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.
