Russian forces have launched rocket attacks on the central Ukrainian industrial city of Kryvyi Rih, hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A dam on the Inhulez River was damaged. Parts of the city were flooded. Zelenskyj spoke of an attempt to “flood” his hometown.
Military tactics are probably behind the tidal wave caused on the Inhulez. Because: Further south near Cherson, the tributary of the Dnipro is currently the front line between Ukrainian and Russian troops. The high water level, as well as the plan of the Russians, should make it difficult to pass the river.
The Russian military bombed the dam “so that the water in the Inhulez would rise and the Ukrainian pontoon bridge would be washed away,” Italian military expert Thomas Theiner also believes in the “Bild” talk. The floating bridge is a good 100 kilometers downstream from Kryvyi Rih.
In the past, the Russians had already bombed and finally hit the pontoon bridge built by the Ukrainians. But, the report goes on to say, the river was now so shallow that even lying on the bottom, she was still sticking out. The Ukrainians were thus able to continue crossing the river.
Theiner therefore suspects that the shelling of the pumping station was intended to cause the river level to rise. The hope: the bridge should be washed away and the advance in Cherson stopped. However: “The river will be back to normal in two to three days.” And: “Since there is a good 100 kilometers between the dam and the pontoon bridge, the Ukrainians still have time to move 50 trucks with ammunition across it before the bridge becomes impassable .”
The expert sums it up: Russia’s “desperate act” shows “that the Russians are at the end of their rope in Cherson”.
In fact, the Ukrainians are currently recapturing more and more parts of the country in a successful counter-offensive. In addition to the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, several successes were also reported in Kherson. The fight there continues. Numerous Russian troops are also stationed in the southern Ukrainian region. Heavy fighting is expected.
Always informed: The course of the war in Ukraine in the ticker
