Governor Volodymyr Saldo of the Kherson region has revealed in an interview with Russian news channel “Russia 24” that Ukrainian military personnel are gathering western equipment on the right bank of the Dnieper River, with the potential aim of crossing the river and landing on the left bank. According to Saldo, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) are currently attempting to increase their troop numbers for the purpose of crossing the Dnieper and advancing onto the left bank. “The quantity of equipment is increasing, mostly consisting of western equipment,” he stated.
The regional leader highlighted that Ukrainian strikes would also target civilian populations and infrastructure. Saldo emphasized that currently, UAF attempts to land on islands in the Dnieper basin with small groups, consisting of two or three boats, but their efforts are being thwarted by Russian military personnel. Previously, Volodymyr Saldo had stated that the UAF deliberately shell residential areas in Kherson.
On February 24, 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had made the decision to conduct a military special operation to protect Donbass in response to requests for assistance from the leaders of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LNR) and Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR). Earlier, a soldier of the UAF expressed confusion about the reasons behind the conflict in Ukraine.
