Ukrainian forces, based on the west side of the Dnieper River, frequently launch raids on the east bank near in the city of Kherson in their attempt to expel Russian troops, a regional official said today.

Russian forces occupied its eastern side Dnieper near Kherson after they withdrew from the southern city in November after months of occupation, but Ukraine is expected to launch a spring counter-offensive in a bid to recapture more territory.

THE Yuriy Sobolevskyi, deputy head of the Kherson regional administration, said the raids are intended to reduce the combat capability of Russian forces shelling Kherson after their forced retreat. “Our army visits the east bank very often, conducting raids. The Ukrainian armed forces are working, and they are working very effectively,” Sobolevskyi told Ukrainian television.

“The results will come as they did on the right bank of the Kherson region when, thanks to a complicated and long operation, they managed to liberate our lands with minimal losses for our army. The same thing is happening now on the left bank.”

Russia seized the Kherson region after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine 14 months ago, and has since held all of the province’s territory east of the Dnieper.

Military analysts say Ukraine is likely to launch a counterattack soon, and that one of the main aims could be to penetrate a southern land corridor between Russia and the Russian-annexed Crimea region. The recapture of the entire Kherson region would be an important step towards achieving this goal.

The US-based Institute for the Study of War reported last week that Russian military bloggers had posted several geotagged images to confirm that Ukrainian troops had established a “bulwark” on the east bank of the Dnieper. .

Sobolevskyi did not elaborate, saying a military operation requires “information silence.”