– The Russian units will rot, says military expert Palle Ydstebø. He is the head teacher at the war school. The Ukrainian forces have shown that they can destroy the supply lines to the Russians who occupy the city of Kherson and the surrounding area. PRECISION: Here the hits on the bridge over Inhulets are marked in red. The Ukrainians have shown that they can not only hit the bridges, but exactly where they want to hit them. Photo: Airbus – The damage to the bridges is such that heavier military vehicles cannot pass. This means that the Russians do not get ammunition. They are isolated, says Ydstebø. How many Russian soldiers have ended up in the difficult situation is unclear. Before the Ukrainians started shooting at the bridges, there were over 10,000 soldiers on the west side of the Dnipro. In recent times, they have received reinforcements. – I have seen figures as high as 30,000, says Ydstebø. FOUR BRIDGES: All the important bridges in the area have been attacked by the Ukrainians. The fourth bridge, just west of the Antonovsky Bridge outside the city of Kherson, is a railway bridge that is now unusable. Possible major Ukrainian victory EXPLAINED: Former head of the army in Norway, General Odin Johannessen says that soldiers are affected by not having an opportunity to get away from a combat area. Photo: Eva Helene Storm Hansen / Moment Studio – If the Ukrainians behave wisely and follow the international law of war, then they can have a major military and political victory, says former head of the army in Norway, General Odin Johannessen. Inside the isolated area lies the city of Kherson. It is the largest of the Ukrainian cities the Russians occupied after the invasion in February. Johannessen thinks the Ukrainians might be able to get the Russian soldiers to surrender. – Such a force will struggle with fighting morale. If they see that the Ukrainians treat prisoners of war well, that may be all it takes for them to lay down their weapons, Johannessen believes. DIFFICULT SITUATION: Russian soldiers stand guard at the road bridge that goes over the dam at Kakhovka. The photo was taken in May, before the Ukrainians began to attack. Photo: AP Used American weapons There are four important bridges in the area. Three of them cross the Dnipro in Kherson county. The fourth goes over the river Inhulets. All of them have been shelled by the Ukrainians in recent weeks. American rockets are responsible for the damage. They are precise and only hit parts of the bridges. The foundations are standing and the bridges can be repaired. GMLRS: The American precision weapons launched by Himars do not have high explosive power. They create relatively small holes in the road surface. This is one of many holes in the Antonovsky Bridge near the city of Kherson. Photo: STRINGER / AFP The largest of the bridges, Antonovsky right by the city of Kherson, has been hit several times. The Russians attempt to repair the road, but new attacks destroy it again. Getting little supplies – The Russians have used parts of pontoon bridges as ferries, but they have poor capacity, says Lieutenant Colonel Geir Hågen Karlsen at the Norwegian Defense Academy. These ferries are also vulnerable if the Ukrainians choose to attack them, Karlsen believes. Video from the area shows that the improvised ferries are used by both civilians and the military at the same time. SAYS RUSSIA HAS REDUCED COMBAT ABILITY: Geir Hågen Karlsen at the Norwegian Defense Academy points out that the Russian forces have major problems in obtaining ammunition. Photo: Lokman Ghorbani Two out of four completely closed Two of the bridges were still possible to use for relatively light vehicles on Wednesday. One is a combined rail and road bridge that goes over the Kakhovka dam. The bridge was attacked in July, and then repaired. On Monday, Ukrainian authorities announced that they had attacked it again. Photos of the damage came on Wednesday, and showed a partially destroyed roadway. The route through Kahovka is vulnerable anyway. Supplies to the city of Kherson coming across the river at Kakhovka must also pass the river Inhulets. The Daryevka bridge over Inhulets has extensive damage. REPAIRABLE: The roadway is broken, but the foundation is just as solid. The Ukrainian president says the bridges will be repaired once the area is liberated. Photo: ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO / Reuters Can’t move – Knocking out the bridge over Inhulets means that the Russian troops in the north and south of this area cannot support each other, says Karlsen. – Not only do they have a difficult supply situation, but they also have limited freedom of movement, adds Karlsen. Former army commander Odin Johannessen points out that failing supply lines is particularly unfortunate for the Russians. – They have based much of their striking power on artillery. Supplying this artillery with ammunition is a big and difficult job even with working railways and roads, says Johannessen. NATURAL BARRIER: The Dnipro River at the city of Kherson. The river is wide, deep and with a large water flow all the way up to the large Kakhovka reservoir. Photo: ANDREY BORODULIN / AFP Received reinforcements Even after the Ukrainians showed that they could hit the bridges, the Russian forces were reinforced. This was stated by the head of the Ukrainian Security Council, Oleksiy Danilov, at a press conference at the end of July. – It may be difficult to understand why the Russians choose to send more soldiers into an area where they are in danger of being completely isolated. It could be that they are so concerned with keeping everything they have taken that they have not fully realized the seriousness, says Palle Ydstebø. THINKS RUSSIA WAS WRONG: Head teacher at the war school, Palle Ydstebø, thinks the Russians may have thought they could stop the Ukrainian artillery attacks on the bridges. It turned out not to be possible. Photo: Mathias Moene Rød / Mathias Moene Rød Think the Ukrainians are coming Ukrainian authorities have signaled for a long time that there will be an offensive aimed at liberating Kherson. Last month, residents were urged to flee the expected hostilities. – Get away, especially those of you who are responsible for children. It is guaranteed that the area will be liberated, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said at a press conference. The fear of a Ukrainian offensive in Kherson has led the Russians to transfer troops from Donbas. It has reduced the pressure on the Ukrainian forces in that front section, reports the Institute for the Study of War. MAY NOT BE DONE: A Ukrainian soldier on the front line in Kherson. It is uncertain whether the Ukrainian defense forces have reached the level of training and equipment that they are able to liberate the city of Kherson. Photo: GENYA SAVILOV / AFP Maybe the Ukrainians will not attack – Liberating the city of Kherson through a major attack will be a big and bloody job for the Ukrainians. I don’t think they want to do it that way, says Ydstebø. He believes the Ukrainians will continue to use artillery to make the supply situation increasingly difficult for the Russians. Geir Hågen Karlsen believes it is unclear whether the Ukrainians will be able to carry out such a large operation. – Until now, the Ukrainians have mostly been on the defensive in well-prepared positions. Attacking the Russians in Kherson will require extensive coordination of large army units and cooperating departments, says Karlsen. General Johannessen also does not believe that a Ukrainian offensive against the city of Kherson is likely. – This will require a great deal tactically and logistically from the Ukrainians. They also have to endure significant losses. Then it is easier to let the Russian forces be weakened over time. That is what is happening now with the cut off supply and evacuation axes, says Johannessen.
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Large Russian army isolated – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
