Russian landing in Kherson’s Korabel district unlikely at present, says spox Voloshin

This was stated by Vladislav Voloshin, spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces, commenting on information that Russian troops are allegedly preparing to land in Kherson in the Korabel microdistrict in the coming weeks, and that evidence of this is that the enemy is trying to destroy the bridge connecting mainland Kherson and this microdistrict.

“The scenario that the enemy will now try to land in the Ostriv (Korabel) neighborhood is, from a military point of view, very doubtful at this time. This is because before approaching the Ostriv neighborhood, the enemy must overcome several waterways and pass several islands, which is quite difficult today. The Ukrainian defense forces are working on all assault and crossing groups that the enemy is trying to launch on our shore. It takes time for the enemy to swim from one shore to the other. And during this time, all of these enemy assault groups can be detected. Because we are not going to sit idly by and wait for the enemy to land on our shore and begin to capture areas of the city. To voice this scenario now is like talking about various scenarios of some unrealistic events that have not yet happened,” Voloshin emphasized.

As for whether there is a risk of Russian airborne assaults, Voloshin said that the helicopter would have to fly close to Ukrainian positions, where it would be spotted by the Defense Forces and could be destroyed. He recalled how the Russian airborne assault in Hostomel ended when the Ukrainian military was not as prepared as it is now to meet the enemy.

“We now have units that carry out anti-landing operations. We generally expect the enemy to try to force their way through, and we are ready for various events and scenarios,” he said. He emphasized once again that Ukrainian intelligence currently does not see that the Russians have sufficient forces and resources for a massive assault in this direction.

He explained that the Defense Forces, having discovered that such an enemy operation is being prepared, will counter it at the very beginning. “We will strike the enemy in the areas from which they will launch their assaults and advances,” Voloshin stressed.

At the same time, he noted that the situation in this direction is quite complicated and dangerous. Over the past day, the enemy carried out 280 strikes with kamikaze drones, carried out nine air strikes with guided bombs on Kherson, and used eight unmanned loitering munitions of the Molniia, Lancet, and Pryvit-82 types in the Kherson region.

The situation is also complicated on the islands in the Dnipro Delta—over the past day, there were three combat clashes on the island of Bilohorudiv, one on Velykyi Vilkhiv, and clashes on the Antonivsky bridges—railway and automobile.

In general, the spokesman emphasized, the enemy is striking Kherson, and in particular the Korabel microdistrict, with artillery, guided aerial bombs, and enemy drones are constantly operating. That is why, after the enemy’s strike on the island’s road bridge, the local authorities are evacuating the civilian population remaining in the Korabel microdistrict.

As reported by Ukrinform, in order to storm Kherson, the enemy must first capture the island area in the Dnipro delta – all attempts to create such a bridgehead are repelled by the Ukrainian military. At the same time, information circulating on social media about the alleged landing of enemy DRGs in Kherson is not true.

As for the bridge connecting the mainland part of the city and the Korabel microdistrict, which was damaged by the Russians, it is a logistics facility that ensures the livelihoods of civilians – this bridge did not play a significant role in the defense system.