The Russian army on Saturday prepared to once again cross a pontoon of an eastern Ukrainian river that forms a formidable barrier to its targets in the region, the Ukrainian army said, despite suffering one of the war’s most deadly battles in an earlier attempt this month .
Russian forces were once again deploying bridging equipment near the Seversky Donets River, the Ukrainian military said in its regularly published morning assessment of the war. It said the Russian army seemed ready to resume an offensive in the area targeting the city of Yampil.
“The enemy has not ceased offensive actions in the Eastern Area of Operations with the aim of gaining full control over the territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” the assessment said.
The Ukrainian military has blown up bridges to force the Russians to build pontoon bridges, a tactic that has proven effective — and costly to the Russian military. Armed forces are particularly vulnerable to artillery strikes because they collect soldiers, armored vehicles, and equipment during a crossing attempt.
In the first month of the war, the Ukrainians destroyed dozens of Russian armored cars at one location on the Irpin River, northwest of the capital Kiev, where the Russian army attempted seven failed pontoon crossings before retreating.
In the battle for control of the eastern coalfield known as the Donbas, Russian forces have attempted several pontoon crossings of the Seversky Donets, seen as an important tactical step toward the goal of putting a pocket of Ukrainian troops in and around to surround the city. from Sievierodonetsk.
On May 11, Ukrainian artillery struck a pontoon crossing with devastating effect, destroying the bridge, burning armored vehicles on both riverbanks and killing more than 400 soldiers, according to estimates by Western military analysts. The British Ministry of Defense has issued statements confirming, based on satellite images, Ukrainian accounts and aerial photos from drones posted online of the attack.
The 650-mile Seversky Donets River rises in Russia and meanders southeast through the Donbas region before re-entering Russian territory, forming meandering lakes, floodplains and swamps that provide an effective barrier to Russian armored vehicles. Still, Russia has gained some ground in its eastern offensive through gradual advances and repeated attempts to storm the Ukrainian lines under the guise of intense artillery bombardment.
