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On the night of March 11, an unusual incident took place in the Kherson region. The AFU likely attempted to launch another landing operation, but it was timely thwarted by Russian forces.
According to the reports by Russian servicemen deployed in the Kherson region, Ukrainians launched a steamer, quite a large vessel, from Kherson to the Dnieper River. The steamer sailed several kilometers but was soon blown up by Russian forces. The Russians sent a boat filled with explosives to the steamer. As a result of the attack, the vessel was heavily damaged and ran aground. It could no longer be used by the Ukrainian military.
The Russian Governor of the Kherson region confirmed the incident. According to him, the vessel in question was a tugboat sent from the Koshevaya river to the Dnieper. The Russian official confirmed that the vessel was immobilised as a result of the Russian attack.
The Russian military is ready for any provocations that Ukrainian formations may launch as part of the so-called “offensive in the Black Sea”, the Governor claimed.
It was not clarified if there were Ukrainian servicemen on board. The goal of this clumsy provocation remained unclear. Perhaps, the Armed Forces of Ukraine attempted to cross the Dnieper and land on the Russian eastern coast. It should not be excluded that they planned to go the Black Sea to reach the Crimean peninsula.
The head of the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate Budanov has announced some kind of “large-scale operation in Crimea.” He clarified that Ukrainian special services ” were studying ways of approach and withdrawal” from the peninsula in advance. Taking into account the previous attempts of the Ukrainian military to reach Crimea, which only resulted in some photos and heavy losses in Special Operations Forces, Kiev has no chance to launch any significant ground operation on the peninsula. The claims about the planned withdrawal in the senseless operation did not please the Ukrainian population, which suffered heavy losses during the summer counteroffensive without any gains.
