2022 Kherson counteroffensive

August

On 29 August, Zelenskyy announced the start of a full-scale counteroffensive to retake Russian-occupied territory in the south, a claim that was corroborated by the Ukrainian parliament as well as Operational Command South.^{[103][104][105][1][10]}


At the start of the operation, the Ukrainian operational group "Kakhovka" and some Ukrainian officials claimed that their forces had broken through defensive lines manned by the 109th DPR Regiment and Russian paratroopers.^[1] The 109th DPR Regiment was a conscript unit which was known to serve on garrison duty in the Kherson area.^[10] Ukrainian officials also claimed that they had hit and destroyed a large Russian base in the area^[106] amid a general increase of Ukrainian air and artillery bombardments of Russian positions.^[10] The authorities in occupied Kherson called these claims "fake" and "an illusion",^[107] but also announced a workplace evacuation from Nova Kakhova following Ukrainian missile strikes.^[108] Locals reported heavy fighting across the Kherson frontline, while electrical networks temporarily failed and evacuations of civilians took place.^[106] An NPR journalist in the area confirmed the increased intensity of combat and that more Ukrainian forces were moving to the frontline.^[109] The Ukrainian government and military largely refused to talk about territorial changes on the offensive's first day, though anonymous Ukrainian officials, Western journalists and a number of Russian milbloggers reported that Ukrainian troops had captured several settlements north and northwest of Kherson, at a bridgehead across the Inhulets River, as well as south of the Kherson–Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border.^[10] Among these were the villages of Sukhyi Stavok,^[10] Novodmytrivka,^[a] Arkhanhelske, Tomyna Balka and Pravdyne.^[2] The Ukrainians also attacked Russian pontoon ferries on the Dnipro River.^[16]


By 30 August, Russia was beginning to direct large numbers of troops and equipment to the Kherson frontline to counter the Ukrainian offensive. Meanwhile, Ukraine intensified its attacks on Russian concentration points, ammunition depots, bridges and other targets. In Kherson city, there were reports of fighting between Ukrainian partisans and pro-Russian security forces. Russian milbloggers claimed that battles were ongoing at Myrne, Soldatske and Snihurivka, Ukraine had retaken Ternovi Pody, but been repelled at Pravdyne and Oleksandrivka.^[16] According to Pantelis Boubouras, Greece's honorary consul in Kherson, the Ukrainians had relatively easily broken the Russian first line of defense near Kherson city, but had encountered much stiffer resistance at the Russian second line of defense in the area. By 31 August, this second line was the main focus of combat, with Boubouras stating that local sources had informed that both sides were suffering heavy losses. However, a Russian milblogger reported that Ukrainians were making progress toward Vysokopillia further north, though the overall situation at the northern frontline remained unclear.^[110][111] Milbloggers also claimed that the Russians had been able to stabilize the frontline at Oleksandrivka as well as Blahodatne, but had failed when attempting to retake Myrne. Ukrainian advances were also reported at Ternovi Pody and Lyubomyrivka.^[111] Later that day, Ukrainian sources claimed that four small villages had already been retaken, though Ukrainian soldiers also stated their opinion that this operation was not a large counteroffensive but rather a localized operation. Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Oleksiy Arestovych cautioned that the offensive was going to be a "slow operation to grind the enemy", not a quick and massive campaign.^{[112][113][114]}