Russia’s “island tactic” in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is collapsing—and costing lives, Armiia TV reports.
Only a small fraction of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, likely less than 5%, is under Russian occupation, limited mostly to border settlements seized during recent offensives. The majority of the region, including its administrative center, the city of Dnipro, remains controlled by Ukraine.
On the Dnipro River near Kherson, Russian troops are being thrown into suicidal assaults. They are packed into boats and sent across the water to seize small islands—often without support, supply, or a way back. Most don’t survive. Those who do face one choice: surrender or die.
Serhii Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, calls it a “typical algorithm” used by Russia.
“They are sent by boat—if it even makes it across. Then they’re abandoned. No supply. No evacuation. The best option is to surrender,” he says.
Since December 2024, Ukrainian defenders have destroyed over 300 Russian watercraft in the southern theater, he reports.
Despite the Kremlin’s push, these missions have become death traps. Ukrainian firepower meets the boats before they even land.
Currently, the Russian military is also intensifying its offensive efforts in the Dnipropetrovsk direction with the goal of making territorial gains before 9 May, the anniversary of Victory Day, a major Russian national holiday commemorating the Soviet victory in World War II, Army Inform reports.
Capturing new territory by this symbolic date would serve several purposes for Russia, explains Taras Myshak, senior communications officer of the 59th Separate Assault Brigade of Unmanned Systems named after Yakiv Handziuk.
Meanwhile, signs of collapse in Kherson Oblast are growing despite the continuous terror of Ukrainian civilians. On the left bank of Kherson Oblast, two Russian National Guard soldiers disappeared in Nova Kakhovka in late April. Both were reportedly involved in looting.
Russian soldiers who looted Nova Kakhovka residents vanish as pro-Ukrainian partisans strengthen their network in Kherson Oblast
Soon after, 12 Russian soldiers deserted, escaping in civilian clothes. One of them was believed to be a foreign national, likely recruited through a secret center in Transnistria.
“Desertion is becoming one of the clearest signs of the Russian army’s collapsing morale,” Bratchuk adds.