Calls for more international support as Ukrainian forces gain control of Dnipro River east bank

Ukrainian forces have gained control of the east bank of the Dnipro River, a crucial advance in the Kherson region. Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak made the announcement as he called for enhanced international support in acquiring weapons to counteract Russian air superiority.

A Ukrainian serviceman looks at his comrade sailing through the Dnipro river on the boat at the frontline near Kherson, Ukraine, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023 (AP Photo/Alex Babenko) Source: AP / Alex Babenko/AP

Russian forces seized the Kherson region in the early days of their February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

But late last year they abandoned the regional capital, also called Kherson, and the Dnipro's west bank.

They have since shelled Kherson and other towns from new positions on the east bank.

Ukraine launched a counter offensive against Russia in June - and now President Voldymyr's chief of staff Andriy Yermak has told the Hudson Institute in the US that Ukrainian forces have secured a foothold on the east side of the river.