Ukrainian forces dispute Russian claims of clearing bridgehead on left bank of Kherson region

The information the Russian military spread about clearing the foothold on the left bank of the Dnipro River does not match reality, according to the command of the Defense Forces of Ukraine's south.

Ukrainian soldiers in the south of the country have continued to hold their positions, inflicting significant losses on the Russian occupiers, Rubryka reports.

"After attempting a single assault in one day, the occupiers withdrew to pre-prepared propaganda positions, falsely reporting the destruction of the foothold without being able to accomplish the task assigned by the command," the Ukrainian command said.

Earlier, Russian defense minister Sergey Shoigu stated during a briefing with Putin that Russian troops had cleared the village of Krynky, Kherson region. However, as Putin claimed, Russian Lieutenant General Mikhail Teplynsky, who commands the local grouping, informed him that there were a small number of Ukrainian soldiers left in the village.

Shoigu refuted Teplynsky's statement and presented Russian efforts as a successfully completed operation. He also praised the Airborne Forces and the 810th Marine Brigade for their role in the operation, which is typical Kremlin praise after Russians seized a tactical object.

In turn, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported on the morning of February 21 that Ukrainian forces continue to hold positions and repel assaults by Russian troops on the Kherson front. Over the past day, the Russians attempted one unsuccessful assault.

Moreover, ISW experts reported that at the time of writing their publication, they had not observed any visual evidence of significant Russian advancement near the limited Ukrainian foothold in Krynky and its vicinity.

On February 20, the Ukrainian forces eliminated over 1,100 Russian occupiers, bringing the losses of Russian troops since the start of the full-scale invasion to over 406,000 soldiers.