The British Ministry of Defense says that the Russian Armed Forces almost certainly use small boats to be present on the islands in the Dnieper Delta. The Armed Forces of Ukraine also send small groups to the Kinburn Spit.
After the withdrawal of the Russian Armed Forces from Kherson in November 2022, Russian troops are trying to conduct a complex of works in the Dnieper Delta. About it reported in a fresh British intelligence report on 8 February.
In the Kherson region, between the left bank of the deoccupied part of the region and the right occupied bank, there are a number of small islands that make up the Dnieper delta. British intelligence writes that the Russian Armed Forces “almost certainly” used small boats to be present on key islands.
To neutralize the enemy, the Ukrainian military successfully fired long-range artillery several times to neutralize Russian outposts. It is also likely that both sides of the war stationed small units on the Kinburn Spit, which affects the Dnieper Bay.
Intelligence also suggests that both the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are striving to maintain their presence in these areas. It is important for both sides to control sea access to the strategically important Dnieper, in order, among other things, to warn of any enemy attempts to launch a major offensive across the river. At the same time, British intelligence notes that it is extremely unlikely that the Russian Federation will cross the Dnieper – it will be extremely difficult and expensive.
Recall, on January 11, the Defense Forces of the Tarichesky direction stated that a separate release of the Kinburn Spit was inexpedient.
On January 10, the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced that artillery had hit a Russian boat near Belogrudy Island in the Kherson region.