The Russians regroup, preparing for an intense “island war”. The neuralgic point identified by the Ukrainian army

The Russian forces temporarily reduced the number of assault operations in the Herson region over the last 24 hours, regrouping for more intense attacks on the islands on the Dnieper river, August 4, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army for The Kyiv Independent.

The Herson region of southern Ukraine remains partly under occupation, with Russian troops keeping strong positions on the left bank of the Dnieper. From there, they continue to launch attacks on the territory controlled by Ukrainian forces, including Herson.

Serhii Bratchuk, the spokesman of the South Division of the Ukrainian army, states that the Russian attacks on the civilian objectives in the region remain intense, but that there has been a “certain reduction” of the assaults as the armed forces of Moscow are regrouped.

“If we talk about a certain decrease in the number of assault operations, it is related to the regrouping of the relevant Russian units to eventually resume the more active attacks on the island area of the Herson region, especially near Herson,” Bratchuk said.

“And this” island war “continues,” he added.

Bratchuk said that although Russian troops are regrouped for more active fighter operations, this does not indicate a new major offensive in the Herson region.

“At present, there is no reason to talk about the establishment by the Russians of a large group capable of leading a large military operation,” he said.

Earlier during the Monday, Vladislav Voloșin, the spokesman of the armed forces in southern Ukraine, told Suspilne that the momentary break in attacks follows a recent intensification of the activity of the Russian forces in the island areas of the Dnieper River.

According to Voloșin, Russian troops acted much more active a week ago. They carried out operations throughout the area of islands – from the Southern Islands Zabych and Nestyha to the area near the Antonivsky railway bridge. Each island was the scene of one or two combat commitments, Voloșin said.

He mentioned that the Russian forces most likely tested the Ukrainian defense, trying to locate the firing positions and to study the disposition of the mined fields and the engineering barriers.

“We cannot say that the intensity of the attacks is high, but there is a rather high density of bombings in the direction of Prydniprovske,” added Voloșin.

Both Voloșin and Bratchuk have emphasized that Russian troops continue to bomb intense civil targets in the Herson region. Every day, Ukrainian forces record between 200 and 250 FPV drone attacks (“First-Person-View”) on the right bank of the Dnieper, performed with artillery attacks and the launch of guided air bombs.

The Herson region, located in southern Ukraine, north of the Crimean Peninsula annexed by Moscow, has been a constant target from the beginning of the Russian invasion. The Ukrainian forces released the right bank of the NiPer River in the Herson region in November 2022.

On August 2, Russian forces targeted an important bridge in Herson, which caused the local authorities to urge the civilians to evacuate the area. An air attack took place then, around 6:00 pm, when two guided bombs were launched on the city and damaged the bridge connecting Herson to the Korabel neighborhood, according to an announcement of regional officials.