Russia is massing for a river crossing to try to take back Kherson. Its forces are preparing to dig in on the west bank of the Dnipro and build up around the Korabel district as a possible bridgehead for an assault on the city, Anastasiia Shevchenko, deputy spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces, told Ukrinform.

Kherson, liberated in late 2022, has lived ever since under daily Russian fire from the occupied east bank, and its recapture is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s conditions for ending the war. The long-feared Russian attempt to cross the Dnipro is no longer hypothetical: on 22 October, Russian troops made the first amphibious landing attempt of the whole campaign, and it was wiped out.

The Korabel neighborhood in Kherson is commonly known as “the Island” because it is located on Quarantine Island and is surrounded on all sides by the rivers and channels of the Dnipro.

Russia’s intent, in its own words

“According to available information, the enemy is carrying out preparatory measures that may indicate an intention to further entrench on the right bank, build up forces in the Korabel area, and use it as a possible bridgehead for further actions aimed at seizing Kherson,” Shevchenko said.

Korabel, an island district linked to central Kherson by a single bridge that Russia has repeatedly bombed, still holds about 150 residents whom authorities are urging to leave. Russia recently dropped aerial bombs on its road bridge, the head of the Kherson city military administration, Yaroslav Shanko, said.

The 22 October raid that failed

That day, for the first time in its entire offensive on Kherson Oblast, Russia tried to land assault groups on the Korabel shore, Shevchenko said. Instead of a single boat it sent four, two soldiers in each, and timed the crossing to dense fog and strong wind meant to slip past Ukrainian observation.

“Russian calculation was to disperse the attention and forces of the Ukrainian defenders,” Shevchenko said.

It did not work. Two boats were destroyed before they reached Korabel and the nearby Karantynnyi Island, and the other two were hit after their crews landed. Of the four Russians who made it ashore, one was killed on the spot, and three were taken prisoner.

“In effect, the occupiers' first attempt to create a bridgehead in Kherson ended unsuccessfully. Instead of entrenching on the bank, the Russian group suffered losses,” Shevchenko said.

Ukrainian forces have accounted for the tactic and stepped up watch over the right bank of the Dnipro, and the situation is under the control of the Defense Forces.