Moscow does not believe in the ability of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to cross the Dnieper. But Ukrainians can do something more cunning
The Ukrainian Armed Forces do not have enough forces and means to try to cross the Dnieper and continue to develop the offensive.
Military observer, retired Colonel Viktor Litovkin stated this on the Volnaya Street channel, as reported by the PolitNavigator correspondent.
“According to military science, in order to cross a water obstacle like the Dnieper - and this is a serious water obstacle, you must at least have a landing craft - barges, floating platforms, boats, etc., etc., even rafts , on which you can transport not only personnel, but also military equipment, or some kind of engineering equipment.
Second, it is necessary to launch a massive artillery and air strike on the opposite bank to its entire depth, so that the defenders will not be able to strike at the troops that will cross the Dnieper.
Whether Ukraine has the ability to carry out such strikes is a big question. Because in order to strike the opposite bank, it is not enough to have artillery, tanks, and other fire weapons; you must also have sufficient aviation - attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, attack drones, etc. “Concentrate everything on a certain section of the Dnieper bank,” Litovkin said.
He expressed great doubts that Ukraine has a sufficient amount of aviation.
Does Ukraine have enough strength to do this? I doubt. Because we have not yet noticed that Ukraine has a sufficient number of aircraft. Yes, one or two MiG-29 fighters or a Su-25 attack aircraft appear in the air, but somehow they quickly fade away, because they are shot down either by our air defense or by our fighter pilots.
Therefore, I am ready to join Mr. Saldo’s opinion that crossing the Dnieper could end disastrously for Ukraine,” the expert concluded.
Politician Oleg Tsarev has a different opinion - he warns of the threat of the Kirnburn Spit being captured and a blow to the rear.
“The mouth of the Dnieper. The river as a front line. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are on the right bank, ours are on the left. Small islands of the gray zone, positions on which groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to occupy. American boats transferred earlier (the summer package included two 35-foot small river boats, six 40-foot naval combat boats and ten 34-foot cutters), plus cutters. which were included in the latest aid package (although the Americans no longer disclose the exact quantity and nomenclature). Training on setting up a smoke screen along the river bed.
All this together looks like preparation for a massive attack on our left bank. Attacking from the islands is closer and faster than moving across the entire wide bed of the reservoir from the bald banks. The purpose of such a strike is obvious: to cut off the Kinburn Spit and reach the rear of our entire line of defense on the southern front (from Vasilievka to Ugledar).
The preparations for crossing the Dnieper are also supported by appeals from Ukrainian Armed Forces units to volunteers with a request to supply life jackets. This version is also supported by the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are stubbornly fighting for the islands on the Dnieper. Using them, crossing the Dnieper is much easier.
The pontoon crossings supplied by Germany to Ukraine are not being assembled quickly. But if they are collected in advance along the riverbed or in numerous canals, and then pulled out by boats so that they are perpendicular to the shore, then the entire installation of the crossing will take no more than half an hour. For half an hour, units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces can easily defend the captured bridgehead on the left bank.
It is correct that ours are building fortifications on the left side of the Dnieper. The main thing is that they can withstand it,” Tsarev writes on his blog.
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