We’ve been hearing for weeks that Ukrainian forces were making some progress along the Dnipro River.

Three weeks ago, the marines crossed the wide Dnipro River in southern Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast and secured a bridgehead in the settlement of Krynky on the Russian-dominated left bank.

From Krynky, the marines have advanced south—expanding Kyiv’s five-month-old counteroffensive and challenging foreign observers who seem eager to appease the regime of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

What happens next is anyone’s guess. But what happened before to make the Krynky crossing possible increasingly is becoming clear. The Ukrainian military electronically and logistically isolated Russian forces in Kherson, repositioned their own best forces for a riverine assault then attacked along several axes under the cover of some daring helicopter crews.

Some Russian soldiers described the Ukrainian attack from their point of view.

“Yes, they (Ukrainians) are on our side (of the river). They have entrenched themselves in the Krynky area. There are definitely about 500 Ukrainians there,” said soldiers from one of the occupiers’ battalions,” one of the Russian soldiers told the BBC…

“Two of our battalions were wiped out overnight. Ukrainians have entrenched themselves on our side in the Krynky area, and so far, we can’t knock them out.”

“We are on duty 24/7 without replacements. Plus, everyone is afraid,” the Russian soldiers told journalists.

Plus there are videos circulating of Ukrainan soldiers crossing the river.

Impossible just 6 months ago, with Russians retreating further south, Ukrainian Army now freely traversing the Dnipro River in Kherson Region like it's nothing.

Crimea, we're coming. pic.twitter.com/l3vD4KClHF

— Jay in Kyiv (@JayinKyiv) November 13, 2023

A failed Russian drone attack.

An enemy drone unsuccessfully tries to hit a boat with our soldiers on the Dnipro River.

God bless our soldiers 🙏 pic.twitter.com/QllKURxE7E

— Ukraine News 🇺🇦 (@Ukrainene) November 13, 2023

So earlier today, two different Russian news outlets announced that Russian troops were “regrouping” further away from the river. The Institute for the Study of War wrote about it.

Kremlin press wire TASS and Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti published reports claiming that the command of the Russian “Dnepr” Grouping of Forces (currently active in east bank Kherson Oblast) decided to transfer troops to unspecified “more advantageous positions” east of the Dnipro River and that the Russian military command would transfer elements from the “Dnepr” Grouping of Forces to other directions for offensive operations following the regrouping.[1] TASS and RIA Novosti withdrew the reports within minutes and TASS later issued an apology wherein it claimed that it had “erroneously” released its report.[2] Russian state-affiliated outlet RBK reported thatthe Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) called the reports of a regrouping on the east bank of Kherson Oblast “false” and a ”provocation.”[3] Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded to a question about the situation in Kherson Oblast by stating that only the Russian military can and should comment on the situation.[4]

The Russian MoD has not acknowledged persisting Ukrainian positions on the east bank or ongoing larger-than-usual Ukrainian ground operations in recent weeks. Russian milbloggers have increasingly reported on Ukrainian activity on the left bank, however, sharply contrasting with the continued lack of acknowledgement from Russian state media and Russian officials.[5] The Russian command has previously struggled to establish a coordinated informational approach to developments in Ukraine, particularly when the Russian command failed to set informational conditions for defeats during the Kharkiv 2022 counteroffensive.

So was this an actual plan which was discussed and then released before it had actually happened or was this part of an information operation. The Ukrainians believe it is the latter.

The National Resistance Center of Ukraine (NRC) reported that Russians are conducting an informational operation against Ukraine, and the announced “troop repositioning” is currently not confirmed.

The NRC emphasized that the announcement of the withdrawal of Russian troops from temporarily occupied territories in Kherson Oblast marked the beginning of a Russian propaganda operation aimed at diverting the attention of the Ukrainian military.

The NRC refers to local residents, according to whom there are currently no corresponding movements of enemy troops.

So the Ukrainian progress on the east bank of the river is really happening but the troop redeployment by Russia was apparently a feint pushed out through the media. Still, you have to wonder how long before a similar redeployment is declared in earnest.