Ukrainian servicemen board a boat on the shore of the Dnipro river at the front line near Kherson, Ukraine, on Oct. 15, 2023.
Following the confirmation that Ukrainian forces had crossed the Dnieper river into Russian-occupied territory in recent weeks, hopes have risen that this could be a small but key breakthrough in the six-month counteroffensive against Russia.
The Dnieper has effectively operated as a front line in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, separating Ukrainian troops on the west bank from Russian forces on the east, or left, bank.
Russian forces had retreated to the east bank last year following an earlier counteroffensive by Ukraine that left the Kherson region — strategically important given its location above Russian-annexed Crimea — partially occupied.
"The left-bank [of the Dnieper river] in Kherson is very important because it's near to Crimea," Oleksandr Musiyenko, a Ukrainian military expert and head of the Centre for Military and Legal Studies in Kyiv, told CNBC.
Persons:
Oleksandr Musiyenko, Musiyenko
Organizations:
Crimea —, Centre for Military, Legal Studies, CNBC
Locations:
Dnipro, Kherson, Ukraine, Russian, Russia, Ukrainian, Crimea, Kyiv