Maliar calls for calm about news concerning Ukrainian attack across Dnipro

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar sought to tamp down speculations about a Ukrainian raid across the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast.  

On Aug. 9, the Kyiv Independent's source in Ukraine's Armed Forces confirmed that Ukraine had successfully conducted a raid deep into Russian-held territories across the river.

The source, granted anonymity to speak freely about Ukraine's military operations, told the Kyiv Independent that Ukraine's military had taken 16 Russian soldiers as prisoners and brought them back to the government-controlled side of the river.

"There are no reasons for excitement. I just returned from those places," Maliar wrote. "Yes, certain units performed a certain task there," she added.

"In order to get there, and not to be destroyed and also to gain a foothold, you need to clear the territory and repel the enemy," Maliar said.

"We are saving our people, which is why we're using counter-battery fire," she added.

Ukrainian forces in the area told the Kyiv Independent that they have been conducting small raids across the river under the cover of night for months.

Ukrainian troops regularly cross Dnipro River, probing Russian defenses in Kherson Oblast

Kherson Oblast – Ukrainian soldiers board a speedboat one by one. It sinks deeper into the water, weighed down by the men, their weapons, and equipment. The soldiers at the stern push off from the riverbank with oars until, finally, they turn on the boat’s engine, roaring into the darkness toward

The Kyiv IndependentAlexander Query