Russia prepares 300 boats for Dnipro River assault amid escalating Kherson offensive
Russian troops are gearing up for an offensive in the Kherson direction, amassing a fleet of boats to forge the river crossing. Leading up to this, Russian forces conducted intensified drone strikes on Kherson and other regional settlements, reports the Financial Times, citing Kherson regional Head Oleksandr Prokudin.
Prokudin believes that Russian forces are readying a Dnipro crossing as a new phase in their campaign. "Russia aims to launch a new offensive here, gathering 300 boats for crossing the river," Prokudin revealed.
According to him, the Russians have deployed their top drone aviation units in this area. Since mid-July, the adversary has executed more than 9,500 drone attacks, resulting in at least 37 casualties and hundreds of injuries in the region. These assaults have targeted civilian facilities, ambulances, fire stations, and even police and prosecutor buildings.
"Civilians in Kherson have become subjects in an unprecedented experiment in modern European warfare… Killer machines, sometimes in swarms, hover over homes, invade buildings, and pursue people in cars, on bicycles, or simply on foot. Their targets are not soldiers or tanks, but civilian life," the report stated.
Ukrainian officials believe this aggressive posture reflects a Kremlin-driven urgency to capture Ukrainian lands, advance across the Dnipro, and pressure Kyiv before Trump potentially regains the presidency.
Meanwhile, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army South, Serhiy Bratchuk, indicated that Russian troops are attempting to capture islands in the river and advance towards the western bank of Kherson. He noted that the enemy recently launched a large-scale offensive near Nova Kakhovka.
Reports suggest the Kherson developments are part of broader Russian advances in eastern Ukraine. According to DeepState analysis, Russia has captured a territory equal to approximately half the size of London in eastern Donetsk Oblast over the past month.
In this dynamic landscape, observers highlighted that Kherson would represent a strategic "prize" for the occupiers.
On October 14, a Russian drone struck a civilian vehicle near the village of Havryliva in Kherson Oblast. Two women suffered fatal injuries, while two others were hospitalized with injuries.