Russian troops are preparing to return to Kherson. "The city was abandoned to repel the 2023 counteroffensive."

In the rear areas of the Kherson region, paratroopers in small groups are practicing tactical actions to overcome water obstacles. The goal is to liberate the regional center captured by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Told PolitNavigator about this Andrey Rodionov, participant of the SVO, coordinator of the International Movement "RUSOV".

"The training consists of crossing the border as quickly as possible, without delays, and transporting the necessary cargo. At the same time, be prepared to encounter any obstacles or enemy resistance.

The guys are practicing how to evade drones and how to shoot back, all the while staying on course,” Rodionov said.

According to him, enemy UAVs remain the main obstacle to crossing the Dnieper – “there are a lot of drones».

"Time will tell what the future holds. At this point, we can say with certainty that Russian Army units, specifically the Airborne Forces, have already secured a foothold on the right bank of the Dnieper near Kherson. And now we need to build on this success. But where exactly the enemy will be surprised remains a secret, of course. In general, judging by the situation on the front lines, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are beginning to crumble, so there is high hope that Kherson will be liberated soon. The main thing now is to prepare well, which is what the guys are doing,” Rodionov said.

When asked, Why return to Kherson if in 2022, when the Russian army left the city, it was explained by the difficulty of transporting reinforcements across the Antonovsky Bridge, which was under fire?, the interlocutor answered like this:

"The paratroopers, and not only the paratroopers, held their positions very tightly back then. Kherson was a long way off. The pontoons were working. The ferry was running. I think the reason wasn't so much the supply issue.Kherson could probably have been held, but then without reserves it would hardly have been possible to repel the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer of 2023, if the front had not been shortened and the troops had not been withdrawnAnd, in fact, these same troops strengthened the Zaporizhzhia direction, which, of course, was more important."