Hopes high in battle for Ukraine’s jewel of the south

  • 📰 FinancialReview
  • ⏱ Reading Time:
  • 76 sec. here
  • 3 min. at publisher
  • 📊 Quality Score:
  • News: 34%
  • Publisher: 90%

Australia Headlines News

Australia Latest News,Australia Headlines

OPINION: While every liberation is celebrated, Ukrainians are now focused on the southern front, where winning will mean everything.

After Kherson city, a critical Black Sea port, was captured by Russia in the first days of the war, vision of brave locals peacefully stopping Russian tanks with their hands went viral.

The city of Kherson, founded in 1788 as a fortress at the mouth of the Dnipro River, remains a strategic jewel that links Ukraine to the world.Kherson unlocks seaborne trade routes, protects Ukrainian cities Odessa, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia, and opens the road to occupied Melitopol, Berdyansk and Mariupol. Whoever controls Kherson holds the keys to Putin’s Crimean “land bridge” and dictates the flow of water to the island peninsula via the North Crimean Canal.

With an exhausted Russian army in retreat, victory is in sight. For Putin, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Losing Kherson and Russia’s southern army will expose Crimea to Ukrainian bombardment and, incredibly, possible liberation. With his armies buckling, Putin is on the horns of a dilemma. He can either fall back and allow Ukraine its victory in Kherson or place his entire southern army at risk in an unlikely defence. Despite his generals begging to regroup east of the Dnipro, a stubborn Putin has gambled on digging in., likens Putin’s strategy to “sticking a finger in the dam”.

Already stretched and outsmarted by Ukraine’s multi-theatre offensive, Putin’s options are limited, especially if he refuses to consolidate. In a CNN interview, former CIA director and US military leader General David Petraeus said Putin was “out of moves” and at the mercy of the now-superior and more motivated Ukrainian forces.Even a so-called “tactical” nuclear weapon would be unlikely to shift the battlefield in Russia’s favour.

 

Thank you for your comment. Your comment will be published after being reviewed.
Please try again later.
We have summarized this news so that you can read it quickly. If you are interested in the news, you can read the full text here. Read more:

 /  🏆 2. in AU

Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

‘We dance for Ukraine’: displaced dancers bring the battle to the Australian stageAfter fleeing violence and war, Ukraine’s dancers came together to form the United Ukrainian Ballet, using their art to fight for their country. You can help.
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »

Russian troops flee frontlines in Ukraine’s southUkrainian forces have recaptured dozens of settlements in the past few days in the country’s south, but the Kremlin is confident they will be ‘returned’.
Source: FinancialReview - 🏆 2. / 90 Read more »

Russia-Ukraine war latest updates: ‘dozens’ of towns recaptured in east and south, says ZelenskiyUkrainian forces continue rapid advance in Kherson region and Donetsk; Energoatom may restart Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant Can't wait for us to move way from crude oil to see how these 💩heads would change production to increase prices for something no one uses anymore.
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »

Ukrainian forces making 'rapid and powerful' gains in the Kherson region, Volodymyr Zelenskyy saysVolodymyr Zelenskyy says his forces were making further gains in southern Ukraine. So the moment the world discovers that Ukraine defeated the almighty Russia in a conventional war, is when Russia fires their first tactical nuclear weapon. Will Russia admit it by firing off these spoilsport sore-loser weapons? IS there even one single reporter left on this planet that has the mental ability to realize that Putin could end all of Ukraine before breakfast if he wanted to? They just keep printing this newsfeed garbage. The Ukrainian Nazi gains, is the gains Russia wants them to have. With 370,000 additional Russian troops soon to enter the conflict, Russia is reshaping the battlefield. With NATO entry on Ukraine side, the Russian commitment of ONLY using Soviet built weapons, no longer apply.
Source: SBSNews - 🏆 3. / 89 Read more »

Russia-Ukraine war: Australia to deliver ‘significant’ new support for Ukraine,” says ZelenskyZelensky urged nations to ignore Vladimir Putin’s “nuclear blackmail”, predicting the Russian leader would lose his life if he dares to deploy nuclear weapons. | By Matthew Knott ukraine KnottMatthew KnottMatthew I am predicting that a lot of people will lose their lives if Putin deploys nuclear weapons KnottMatthew Yeah, let's ignore credible threats that would lead to the end of the world as we know it. KnottMatthew Zelenskyy nothing more than a beggar 😂😂😂 And never forget ‘There is no Ukraine, only Russia’
Source: theage - 🏆 8. / 77 Read more »

Stephen Colbert: ‘There’s a reason the Russian army is getting its ass kicked – it sucks’Late-night hosts discuss Russia’s failures in Ukraine, the GOP’s ‘commitment to America’ and a new dating app for conservatives
Source: GuardianAus - 🏆 1. / 98 Read more »