Ukraine’s military ‘cross Dnipro River’ as Kyiv looks to launch spring offensive

Ukraine’s military have crossed the Dnipro River for the first time since the early days of Russia’s invasion as it seeks to launch a counter offensive, US analysts have said.

The US-based Institute for the Study of War said that video and photos from Russian military bloggers have generated the first “reliable geolocated imagery of Ukrainian positions” on the river’s eastern bank.

Infiltrating the area could be a first step towards trying to dislodge Russians from positions they are using to shell and shoot at the city of Kherson on the western side.

The constant attacks have made it impossible for residents to return to normal life, months after Ukrainian troops liberated the city from Russian occupation.

Ukrainian military forays across the river could also mark the first tentative steps towards launching a long-awaited spring offensive.

However The ISW said: “The extent and intent of these Ukrainian positions remain unclear, as does Ukraine’s ability and willingness to maintain sustained positions in this area.”

The Russian-installed head of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo denied the Ukrainian advances, saying: “There is no enemy foothold on the left (eastern) bank”.

It comes as British defence chiefs warned authorities in the region of Kherson- which remains under Russian occupation - are “coercing the population to accept Russian Federation passports”.

“Residents in Kherson have been warned that those who have not accepted a Russian passport by 1 June will be ‘deported’ and their property seized,” the Ministry of Defence said in its latest briefing on Twitter.

“Russia is using passports as a tool in the ‘Russification’ of the occupied areas, as it did in Donetsk and Luhansk before the February 2022 invasion,” it added.

“Russia is likely expediating the integration of the occupied areas of Ukraine into the bureaucracy of the Russian Federation to help paint the invasion as a success, especially in the run-up to the 2024 presidential elections.”

:: The son of Vladimir Putin’s spokesman has been accused of lying about fighting in Ukraine and driving around Moscow in his Tesla instead.

Nikolai Peskov in an interview with a Moscow-based newspaper said he had served as an artilleryman with the Kremlin’s Wagner mercenary group for six months, saying he “considered it his duty”.

But his account, a rare example of the son of a senior Russian official fighting in the war, has been challenged by an influential Russian military writer, who published photos of a black electric Tesla in Moscow reportedly belonging to Mr Peskov.

He wrote: “It was his favourite car, he always drove himself. From the beginning to the end of 2022, the car moved around Moscow. Data on fines was even kept.”