Russian army may launch offensive on Zaporizhzhia in coming days, and is also considering crossing Dnieper River near Kherson - media
The russian occupation army has not abandoned plans to attack Zaporizhzhia, which is located approximately 30 kilometers from the front line. The occupiers are also considering the possibility of crossing the Dnieper River to attack Kherson.
The RBC-Ukraine agency wrote about this with reference to its own sources.
The agency's unnamed interlocutors said that russian troops may launch an offensive in the Zaporizhzhia Region as early as December 5.
The invaders planned to launch the offensive earlier, but they had to postpone it - due to the AFU’s operation in the Kursk Oblast. To strengthen their group there, the russians transferred the 76th Airborne Assault Division from the Zaporizhzhia Axis, which made adjustments to the enemy's plans.
RBC-Ukraine sources said that the russians are allegedly planning to attack from the Kamianske and Pyatikhatky areas in order to move north and try to reach the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia. From there, they will be able to shell the city with all types of artillery.
The agency's interlocutors added that the date of December 5 should not be considered final, since the russians have recently postponed the start of the offensive several times.
According to RBC-Ukraine, the occupiers are also considering an attack on Kherson. To do this, they allegedly want to cross the Dnieper River, since the bridges across the river were destroyed during the fighting in 2022.
Two of the agency's interlocutors said that the russians are transporting equipment for crossing the Dnieper to the left-bank part of the Kherson Region.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, at the end of November, The Economist newspaper wrote, citing Ukrainian intelligence data, that the russian army is preparing to attack Zaporizhzhia. For this, the invaders are allegedly preparing a 130,000-strong group of troops.
As a reminder, on November 12, the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Andrii Kovalenko, stated that the russians do not have enough forces to attack Zaporizhzhia.