Russians delete the message about claimed ‘retreat’ from left bank of Dnipro ‘to test Ukrainian forces’
Russia was testing Ukrainian reactions by claiming to be retreating from the left bank of the Dnipro in Kherson Oblast, Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk said on national television on Nov. 13.
The Russians made claim and then deleted it in “an attempt to gauge the readiness and response of Ukrainian fighter,” Humaniuk said.
She added that the Russians had been laying the necessary groundwork among the public and in the media for a long time.
Read also: No signs of Russian retreat from occupied left bank in Kherson Oblast, reports NRC
"But there was no reaction; they realized they had got the opposite effect. Panic spread in their army, discord intensified, and they were forced to delete (the message)," she said.
Humeniuk said that the morale and mental state of Russian units on the left bank of the Dnipro are "close to critical" due to widespread desertions among the invadres and lack of coordination between army units. This complicates the invaders’ efforts as Ukrainian forces exert pressure on them on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.
Humeniuk said she would not comment on the progress of Ukrainian forces in the area to protect their units and local residents from aggressive Russian behavior. The heightened attention around this topic has led to heavy shelling of the left bank of Kherson, causing suffering to the residents, she said.
Kremlin-controlled news agencies wrote on Nov. 13 that the Russian Ministry of Defense had decided to “reposition troops to more advantageous positions to the east of the Dnipro” to allegedly use them for “advances in other directions.”
Russian media cited reports from RIA Novosti and TASS. However, within minutes the TASS Telegram channel stated that it had released the news “by mistake,” and the report had been “canceled.” The information about troop repositioning disappeared from the RIA Novosti channel as well, and in its place, a message saying “canceled” appeared on the website.
Read also: Russians kill three, injure 15 in artillery attacks on Kherson Oblast in a day – governor
The Russian Ministry of Defense has labeled the report of the supposed “repositioning” of its troops near the Dnipro on the left bank of Kherson Oblast as a “provocation.”
The National Resistance Center of Ukraine (NRC) reported that Russians are conducting an informational operation against Ukraine, and the announced “troop repositioning” is currently not confirmed.
What is happening on the left bank of Kherson Oblast?
Since mid-October, the U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War has reported on the successes of Ukrainian forces and it advances on the left bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.
The Institute reported a breakthrough across the Dnipro to the occupied part of the region near the village of Oleshkivska. At the time, judging by the reaction of Russian “war correspondents,” this operation could be more significant than previous similar raids by Ukrainian forces, the institute said.
At the end of October, analysts reported Ukrainian advances to the village of Krynky, and on Nov. 10, there was speculation about the possible expansion of the bridgehead and the cutting of the vital road from Nova Kakhovka to Oleshky.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces officially refuse to comment on these reports, stating only that the combat work of Ukrainian soldiers continues.
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