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On February 20, Russian authorities declared Russian control of the village of Krynki located on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region. The victory was declared during the meeting of President Vladimir Putin with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. It was later confirmed by the Russian governor of the Kherson region.
Russian President Putin cited the report by the Russian Colonel-General Teplinsky, Commander of the Airborne Forces, saying that the settlement ”almost”, but in fact completely, “came under the Russian control”. The Russian President confirmed that several Ukrainian servicemen remained in the ruined village. They were offered to surrender to the Russian military.
The governor of the region shared the video of the marines of the 810th Guards Brigade holding the Russian flag in ruins:
According to the Russian Defense Minister, irretrievable losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Krynki included 1,820 servicemen who were killed. In total, the AFU lost about 3.5 thousand servicemen. The Ukrainian command has concentrated a large grouping in Krynki, which included 4 brigades of the Marine Corps and had the task of reaching the western coast of Crimea.
The military sources from the front confirmed the Armed Forces of Ukraine had finally dispersed their troops along the banks of the Dnieper. Thus, the grouping accumulated on the eastern bank in order to continue the landing operations to Krynki was deployed along the bank of the river, which likely confirms the end of the constant attempts to continue the bloody battle for the small stronghold on the Russian eastern bank. As a result, artillery duels have intensified along the entire coastline.
According to the latest reports from the Krynki battlefield, indeed, Russian forces have significantly expanded the zone of their control in the area but some Ukrainian servicemen are still hiding in the basements in the ruins, conducting almost no military operations. They were almost cut from the Ukrainian grouping on the western bank, suffering from the lack of food and medicines in their hideout not to mention insufficient military supplies. The Ukrainian command also cannot secure their evacuation. Thus, the Ukrainian servicemen abandoned on the eastern bank are likely to surrender to the Russian military, if they haven’t been captured yet.
As a result of the effective Russian strikes on the Ukrainian grouping on the western bank, Ukrainian forces suffered significant losses in military equipment and manpower. This was one of the reasons why the AFU were forces to reduce their operations across the river. The Ukrainian artillery shelling and drone strikes have recently decreased in Krynki.
It is also possible that the Ukrainian military command decided to transfer some forces from the Kherson region to other directions, where the Russian military is breacking through the Ukrainian defense.
On December 14, Russian President Putin claimed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine “shove their people to Krynki just for their extermination” and the military called it a “one-way road.” He added that he appealed to the chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov “not to rush to squeeze out” the Ukrainian military from the village, since it was “beneficial” for Russia that the Ukrainian Army “continued to send personnel there thoughtlessly.”
The full Russian control of Krynki is yet to be confirmed by more evidence, which is obviously to come in the coming days. Thus, the second Ukrainian counteroffensive on the southern frontlines can be considered a failure, which brough heavy losses without any gains on the ground.
