Ukraine SitRep: Krynky - Zelensky's Rose Tinted Media Strategy - New Orders from DC...

by Bernhard at Moon of Alabama

In late October the Ukrainian army started to send soldiers to the left bank of the Dnieper River which is held by Russian forces. Dozens of soldiers crossed from the norther Kherson region using rubber dinghies and other small boats. The captured parts of the rural town Krynky (Krinki).

biggerThe usefulness of this operation, carried out by Ukrainian marine brigades, was always in question. Was this supposed to be the start of a larger crossing? That seemed unlikely as the small canals through the marshes and the intense drone coverage do not allow for a large movement.

Was this a diversion? Possibly, but a diversion from what?

Every night the Ukrainians sent new boats with fresh forces and supplies and to evacuated wounded soldiers. The Russian military did not attempt to evict the Ukrainians by ground forces but covered them intensely with artillery, air-bombing and drones. Boat after boat was destroyed during the crossing attempts. In the summary of last weeks operation the Russian Defense ministry claimed to have destroyed three such boats per day.

To me this looked like the unsuccessful holding of Bakhmut earlier this year – a waste of soldiers for only a short propaganda gain.

It took some time for western media to question the operation. Last week the BBC was the first to give a first hand account of it:…