Russia Intensifies Efforts to Seize Kherson Region Ahead of Potential Peace Talks

Russia aims to assert its claim over the entire Kherson region before potential peace talks, which is why its forces continuously attempt to establish a foothold on the Dnipro River.

This was reported by The Guardian on March 4, citing Oleksandr Prokudin, the Head of the Kherson Region Military Administration.

“Every single day they are trying to cross,” Prokudin said. “We heard from our intelligence that the Russian deputy commander told troops in the area that they had to force the river at any cost, though not all the soldiers are willing to do that.”

According to the agency, Prokudin explained that Russian troops were ordered to capture at least one village on the right bank of the Dnipro before peace talks began to make it “part of the negotiation.” However, they have failed to achieve this, suffering heavy losses instead.

Prokudin stated that Russian offensive operations are concentrated in four areas: the marshy islands at the Dnipro River mouth, the Antonivka road and rail bridges east of Kherson, and the villages of Lvove and Zmiivka, the latter located upstream of the destroyed Nova Kakhovka dam.

Atesh reported on March 4 that Russian troops were refusing to follow orders to storm islands in the Kherson region due to losses and rumors of a possible ceasefire in the near future.

On February 18, senior diplomats from the United States and Russia met in Saudi Arabia to discuss restoring ties and negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. The meeting did not include any Ukrainian officials.