Russian commanders are reportedly refusing to send their troops to join a planned offensive to storm the Dnipro river.
Putin’s army is building up its forces on the left bank of the Dnipro river, as it prepares to force a crossing.
Intelligence reports suggest 2,000 assault troops have been assembled in the Kherson region, along with some 300 speedboats.
However, many senior officers believe the planned assault to be a suicidal mission and are reluctant to commit their troops and equipment to the fight, according to the ATESH partisan group.
In a post to their Telegram channel, they wrote: “Russian military commanders refuse to send their subordinates to assaults in the Kherson region.
“ATESH agents report growing tension in Russian units located in the occupied territory of the Kherson region.
“The situation is becoming increasingly alarming: military personnel note intensified preparations for the offensive.
“Commanders are constantly called to urgent meetings, after which they return late at night – pale and clearly alarmed.
“This increases nervousness in units where no one really understands what is happening.
“Meanwhile, the command continues to set suicidal goals, further undermining the morale of the personnel.”
The partisans noted that Russian units in Crimea were destroying their boats in a desperate bid not to be sent to Kherson to join the assault.
ATESH is a military partisan movement operating in the occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as in Russia.
It was created by Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in September 2022 as a result of the Russian military invasion.
The partisans said that the rate of suicides in Russian units based in Kherson was also increasing, prior to the planned assault.
Overnight on December 20, Russian forces launched heavy artillery strikes on Kherson and its outskirts, targeting residential areas and critical infrastructure,
According to several monitoring Telegram channels, the strikes were intended to cover advancing assault groups attempting to reach the Antonivsky Bridge.
“Kherson is under heavy artillery fire. They are striking indiscriminately, without correction,” wrote the Telegram channel Mykolaivskyi Vanek.
“There are initial reports of fires in residential buildings. All of this shelling is connected to the occupiers’ attempt to seize the area around the Antonivsky Bridge.
“Two assault groups didn’t make it—they never even reached the river. The battle ended before it truly began. The situation remains stable for now.”
