Ukraine’s army has denied Russian claims that it lost a key bridgehead on the Dnipro River frontline. Russia’s defense minister said Moscow’s forces had retaken the village of Krynky, seized by Ukrainian troops last year. Russia has stepped up its offensive ahead of Saturday’s second anniversary of its invasion, retaking the symbolic town of Avdiivka last week. Ukrainian troops have held positions at Krynky since November despite heavy Russian artillery fire.
The command of the Ukrainian army on the southern front said the information was not true. It claimed Russian forces launched an assault on Krynky but suffered “significant losses” and retreated. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday that Krynky had been “cleared” of Ukrainian forces.
However, the US-based Institute for the Study of War reported that “available open-source visual evidence” suggested Ukrainian forces maintain their limited bridgehead in the area, and it had “not observed any visual evidence of recent notable Russian advances” in and around Krynky. Russian military bloggers also did not report that Krynky was fully under Russian control.
Moscow’s capture of Avdiivka came after months of battles. Russian army chief Valery Gerasimov handed out medals to troops for taking Avdiivka, claiming that it was liberated.
Ukrainian forces have complained of key artillery and ammunition shortages as they hold off concentrated Russian attacks on the eastern and southern sides of the war frontline. The US Congress has been holding up a huge, crucial aid package. Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that the country’s forces are in “extremely difficult” positions in many places ahead of the anniversary.
