Recent satellite pictures shows that the bridge of the new Kharkiv dam has been destroyed, and the Antonov Bridge has been continuously attacked by the Ukrainian “HIMARS” Rocket Artillery Systems. The bridge is being attacked by the Ukrainian Army at least 6 times in a day, which fully proves that after carefully reviewing the strength of the Antonov Bridge, the previous explosions of ammunition convoys had not destroyed it completely, but even so, the Antonov Bridge was practically unusable, at least not for the passage of heavy trucks.
In addition, after being hit by continues “HIMARS” strikes, the pontoon bridge and ferry near the Antonivka Bridge were destroyed, that is to say, the Russian army can only walk through the damaged Antonov Bridge now, with no heavy military equipments like trucks cannot pass the bridge. In the absence of logistical supplies, it is unrealistic to expect the Russian army to withstand the offensive of the Ukrainian army, unless the Russian army guarding Kherson can be as tough as the Ukrainian army in Mariupol. As for the use of helicopters for logistics supply, it is useless in this situation. There are at least 15,000 Russian troops in the Kherson area.
The Ukrainian military has imposed strict information control on the fighting in the Kherson region, and everyone, including frontline reporters, has been strictly warned not to disclose the details of the Ukrainian army’s operations, so as not to be used by the Russian Army. It is precisely for this reason that the news released by the Russian Ministry of Defense has become the main source for the world to understand the war in the Kherson area, but the news released by the Russian Ministry of Defense is obviously beneficial for the Russian army.
In this regard, Natalia Shoemenyuk, a spokeswoman of the Southern Command of the Ukrainian Army, denied the news of the Russian Ministry of Defense and said that the success of the Ukrainian army in the Kherson region was good. While the Ukrainian army continued to advance, it also destroyed some ammunition depots and pontoon bridges, they have cut off the main supply channel of the Russian army in the Kherson area, leaving the Russian army in the Kherson area isolated to a certain extent. Although the Russian troops has sufficient supplies such as ammunition and fuel, but further reinforcements cannot be obtained now.
This limited information shows that the Ukrainian army has a absolute advantage on the southern front, investing at least 150,000 people, and has a large number of artillery and tanks, and they also have sufficient amount of ammunition.
According to reports, the US-made “HARM” anti-radiation missile effectively helped the Ukrainian army to seize local air supremacy. In addition to manned fighter planes, the TB-2 UAV is also frequently dispatched, not only to reconnaissance the battlefield situation, but also to guide the artillery shells to the targets, but also to regularly participate in ground attacks. It destroyed 8 tanks, 1 self-propelled gun, several infantry fighting vehicles and towed howitzers of the Russian Army.
However, due to poor logistics and other reasons, the Russian army’s artillery fire was suppressed, and there was a shortage of ammunition and spare gun barrels. Even if it fired a counterattack, it was easy to be located and attacked by the Ukrainian anti-artillery radar system. In this case, the Russian Aerospace Forces became one of the most important quick fire support for the Russian army in the Kherson area, and they also attacked frequently, but due to insufficient grasp of the battlefield situation, the overall effect was not good. Russian troops are completely relying on the fighters of the Russian Aerospace Forces to gain the air superiority over the Ukrainian Air Force.
Due to the lack of early warning aircrafts, the Russian Air Force Su-35s and other advanced fighter jets cannot effectively detect and attack Ukrainian fighter jets. Russian fighter jets operating at low altitudes rely only on airborne radar and optical sensors, and it is difficult to detect Ukrainian Aircrafts operating at low altitudes. Also, because NATO reconnaissance planes are in the Black Sea area 24 hours a day, Ukrainian fighter jets were able to effectively avoid the threat of Russian fighter jets and air defense systems, specially from those areas with weak air defense, and frequently attacked Russian ground troops, attacking with missiles and rockets and bombs on the Russian army.
The accurate battle situation in the Kherson area is difficult to understand, or it is difficult to judge the authenticity of the battle reports of the two sides, but the front line is indeed changing in the direction of the Ukrainian army. No matter how much strong the Russian Army’s combat effectiveness is, it will be difficult to use its full strength when the supply is not proper or even cut off. What’s more, the Russian army in the Kherson area is not very good, and most of the Russian troops that can still fight are on the northern front.
However, the offensive of the Ukrainian army in the Kherson area does not seem to be aimed at recovering the area immediately. Ukrainian presidential adviser Alexei Arestovich said that the main purpose of the Ukrainian offensive in the Kherson region is to destroy the Russian military’s combat effectiveness, especially their logistics supply system, through systematic and accurate continues strikes. This process is highly effective but slow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also said in a video speech that the Ukrainian army is destroying the war potential of the occupiers on all fronts, paralyzing all Russian military command posts, ammunition depots and logistical supply lines, thanking the intelligence services for providing accurate coordinates that led to precise firing of Ukrainian artillery guns.