Russia, Ukraine and the West: As winter arrives on the battlefield, what will happen next in the conflict?
The battle for Kherson that we discussed in our last article ended in Ukraine’s favor – but with a small twist: there was no actual battle. For three weeks, Russia evacuated not only residents who wished to leave the city – and the right bank of the Dnieper River – but even monuments that the adversary entering the city might find objectionable.
By November 10, the last of the military personnel had left the right bank of the Dnieper, and after they crossed they blew up the bridges (included the long-suffering Antonovsky Bridge) spanning the river, as well as the overpass across the Kakhovka reservoir dam.
Ukrainian forces entered the city a day or two later, and the entire maneuver took place without any noticeable fighting. It may so happen that the border of Kherson Region will be fixed for a long time, years or even decades, along the Dnieper River.
If we summarize the ground strategy of the Russian Army throughout its campaign, after the initial February offensive, it can be formulated as follows: we do not attack anywhere except Donbass; we do not hold on to land and cities; if defense is fraught with costs and losses, we do not hesitate to retreat. It is impossible to say whether this is a forced decision or a pre-selected policy, due to the fact that the military objectives of the special military operation have not been publicly stated.