Dec. 21, 2024, 10:30 p.m.
(Photo: Depositphotos)
<span><span>Yesterday, Russian occupation forces made another unsuccessful attempt to cross the Dnipro River near Antonivskyi Bridge, but failed to reach the middle of the river. </span></span>
<span><span>This was reported by Vladyslav Voloshyn, a spokesman for the Southern Ukrainian Defense Forces.</span></span>
<span><span>According to him, the enemy has increased the number of artillery attacks, using multiple rocket launchers and large-caliber artillery, shelling Kherson and its suburbs. In parallel with the shelling, the Russians tried to cross the Dnipro River in a small group.</span></span>
<span><span>"The defense forces worked proactively: the enemy failed to fully deploy their assets and they remained in their places of concentration. Despite the massive shelling, the enemy failed and could not even get close to the middle of the river," Voloshyn noted.</span></span>
<span><span>Unfortunately, the intense shelling resulted in civilian casualties, damage to buildings and infrastructure.</span></span>
<span><span>The spokesman also emphasized that such attacks by Russian troops are regular: the enemy tries to seize islands on the Dnipro every day or create a bridgehead on the right bank of the river, but is defeated every time thanks to the effective work of the Ukrainian Defense Forces.</span></span>
On December 20, the Ukrainian Defense Forces thwarted the Russian occupiers' plans to land sabotage and reconnaissance groups near Kherson in the right-bank part of Kherson Oblast. On this day, Kherson suffered the largest-scale shelling since 2022.
Most of the attacks fell on residential areas. Critical and social infrastructure facilities were damaged. Rescuers extinguished more than a dozen fires. Medics, law enforcement and utility workers were on the scene. At the same time, the shelling continued.
According to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, pro-Russian telegram channels are actively spreading fake reports about the alleged forced evacuation of Kherson residents. However, this information was untrue and aimed at creating panic among the population.
Андрій Колісніченко