For the past 9 months, the marine units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been holding a small bridgehead in Krynyky on the left bank of the Kherson region in extremely difficult conditions with numerous casualties.
Points of attention
- Ukrainian marine units have been holding a small bridgehead in Krynyk, Kherson region, facing numerous casualties and constant attacks over the past 9 months.
- The battle for Krynyk is one of the most difficult and widely known confrontations in the Ukrainian war, requiring a high level of readiness and military skill from the Ukrainian troops.
- The arrival of American weapons has boosted the effectiveness of Ukrainian defenders, but the inadequate number of shelters remains a critical issue on the battlefield.
- The challenging logistics, including the dangerous river crossing and relentless drone attacks by the Russians, make the battle for Krynyk a grueling and harrowing experience for the Ukrainian military.
- Despite the difficult conditions, Ukrainian soldiers continue to fight fiercely, drawing comparisons to historical military conflicts and showcasing their resilience and determination.
How are the battles for Krynyk and why it is one of the most difficult confrontations in the war
Perhaps the plan was to use this position as a launching pad to penetrate deep into Russian-controlled territory. Any hope for this evaporated when Western supplies ran out in the fall, but the higher command refused to surrender the position that tied up a large number of Russian troops, - the publication notes.
According to the deputy commander of the 503rd Battalion of the 38th Marine Infantry Brigade, 27-year-old Major Serhiy Pedenka, the Russian occupiers cannot understand how the Ukrainian military manages to hold this patch of coastline.
They bomb, then enter, and our guys are still there, fighting, pushing back, and they can't figure it out. But it's really difficult there - says Pedenko.
He compared the confrontation in Krynky with one of the most disastrous landing campaigns in military history - the 1915 attempt to seize the Dardanelles on the territory of modern Turkey.
At that time, the Allied forces numbering almost 500,000 suffered losses of about 220,000 soldiers.
How the situation with the arrival of weapons from the USA has changed
He and his men had received amphibious training under the Royal Marines in Portsmouth, but no amount of training could fully prepare them for the reality of dozens of enemy drones flying overhead.
The Russians continue to attack almost constantly from above with grenades, drones, shells and heavy bombs dropped from fighter jets, moving in short infantry sorties that lead to fierce firefights. Hundreds of people once lived in the village of Krynky, but now it is completely destroyed. Some of Pedenka's people were trapped there for months, hiding in the basements of bombed-out cottages, the publication says.
It is emphasized that evacuation through the Dnipro is carried out only in extreme cases.
Those who simply have a concussion or wounds on the body are advised to keep fighting. Combat medics had to learn the skills of performing amputations in the field due to delays in the evacuation of soldiers, - the authors of the material explain.
Pedenko noted that crossing the river is extremely dangerous.
Crossing the river is so dangerous that if we want to send boats to rotate troops or evacuate the wounded, we have to wait until fog or rain interferes with the drones. The Russians will use about 15 drones to destroy one boat. Therefore, the most difficult part of the battle here is logistics, - explains the soldier.
According to Pedenka, thanks to the arrival of American weapons to the front line, the number of enemy aerial bombs dropped on the positions of the Ukrainian military has decreased from 80 per day to four.
However, the military warns that the key problem remains the small number of shelters still surviving.
