MOSCOW, Nov 15 (Reuters) - Russia has conceded for the first time that some Ukrainian forces have crossed onto the River Dnipro's eastern bank, but has said they face "Hell fire" and that the average life expectancy of a Ukrainian soldier there is around two days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had secured a foothold on the east bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine's Kherson region, the first official acknowledgement of its kind.
Andriy Yermak said Ukrainian forces had managed to cross the river and dig in "against all odds" and that his country's counteroffensive aimed at clawing back territory from Russia - which has so far failed to make a major breakthrough - was "developing."
Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor of the part of Kherson region which Moscow controls, acknowledged in a statement that Ukrainian forces had managed to cross the river which was seen by Russia as a difficult barrier for Kyiv's soldiers to surmount.
In the last two or three days alone, total enemy losses have totalled about a hundred fighters."
Persons:
Volodymyr Zelenskiy's, Andriy Yermak, Vladimir Saldo, Andrew Osborn, Guy Faulconbridge
Organizations:
Russian, Thomson
Locations:
MOSCOW, Russia, Ukrainian, Dnipro, Ukraine's Kherson, Russian, Kherson, Moscow, Russia's