The hope was that Kherson, a large city in the south, would soon be captured

After the collapse of the Northern Front, hope for a symbolic capture at the other end of the country. In the south, Ukrainian soldiers, buoyed by their recent victories, hope to reach the city of Kherson by Christmas.

A few hundred meters away, three Russian BM-27 Ouragan rocket launchers, as devastating as they are, are no more than steel skeletons. The “Hurricane” burned the trees that had been hidden in vain. A week after they died, the smell of fire still hung in the air. In the tubes of one of the BM-27s, a huge eight-wheeled machine operated under the Soviet Union, some rockets failed to explode.

“They were reloading when we hit them,” exults a Ukrainian soldier. Another of these devices, a food chest still offers canned “Baltic fish”. A frying pan survived the fire.

The Russians dropped the equipment on their plane

A little further away, there is the corpse of a truck with a Russian license plate thrown onto the grass. But its cargo, stored nearby, remains intact: a dozen Hurricane rockets, its 280 kg of explosives wreak havoc, and the Ukrainian military is missing. “They will soon be loaded and taken to us,” says the soldier.

Near this precious “trophy” snatched from the Russians, empty powder kegs lie strewn about. Others, packed, have already been brought back to nearby service units.

The Russians say they staged their withdrawal. But as he prepares to leave, he won’t leave behind his weapons, underwear or pillows, laughs “Doc,” a savior.

“The enemy is sluggish and fleeing. The second army in the world fears the commander of the 22nd, Breast “Kappa” (Garnet), Artillery Division. “We must still increase our speed, push them across the river rather than slow it down,” he continues; the Ukrainians advance west of the Dnieper, the Russians on its They controlled the eastern region more firmly.

A new line of defense to prevent Ukrainian attacks

The maneuver is not obvious, however, as positions have been frozen in recent days. The Moscow troops marched back behind a new defensive line, heavily reinforced and concreted. Many Russian soldiers have also been brought in as reinforcements.

If the Ukrainians swept their enemies in the north of the Kherson region in early October, it was especially because they were “numerically superior,” explaining that the Russian military density was very low by a few villages in these agricultural plains. George Barrows.

But behind the new front, Russian lines will be “tightened”This will ease their defense and complicate the Ukrainian advance, adds the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analyst.

French military expert Michel Coya observes that it would be “extremely dangerous” to place “a sixth of the total Russian forces” or even more “and at best” in the southwest of the Kherson region.

The main problem is distribution

“This position is paradoxically solid, but fragile, because it can crack under pressure,” which according to him would be “a disaster, perhaps decisive, for the fate of the Russian expeditionary force in Ukraine.”

Natalia Koumenyuk, a spokeswoman for the Ukrainian army in the south, bets that soldiers in Moscow are “only looking to surrender” but that “their logistics routes have been significantly damaged”.

For months, Kyiv forces have been shelling enemy ammunition depots, but the infrastructure allows Moscow to supply its troops.. The Crimean bridge, according to Natalia Koumenyuk, is “75% delivery [militaire] of Kherson Region » Thus kyiv was partially destroyed in an unclaimed attack on saturday.

“The Russians have already lost the war”

“The Russians don’t have any supply problems yet,” snapped French expert Pierre Grosser. If the situation is “critical”, they will “go for many more aerial supplies, he judges. Kherson is a long-term goal, but it cannot be reached before winter, including winter”.

What next for Gerson? Sack of the city would mean heavy casualties and extreme destruction on both sides.

If Pierre Grosser imagines a “barter” between Kew and Moscow, he first abandons their claims in the spring. Donbass George Barrows envisions only a total Ukrainian victory in return for the city of Kherson returned “in good condition.” “The Russians have already lost the war,” he said.