Viktor Muzhenko (Photo: LIGA.net)

The offensive of the Defense Forces on the east bank of the Dnipro River is a strategic success but is one of the most difficult operations, the former chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Viktor Muzhenko said in an interview with BBC News Ukraine.

"First of all, what concerns the Kherson axis, below the Dnipro, I really believe that it is a success. Because the operation to force such a wide obstacle as the Dnipro River, especially below, in the mouth, where there are a bunch of these islands, branches and so on. It is of great importance. We captured the bridgehead on the opposite bank," Muzhenko stated.

Taken separately as a type of maneuver, as assault crossing, this is indeed one of the most difficult operations that the Defense Forces have successfully conducted.

However, according to the general, this offensive operation should have started "a little earlier".

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When asked how much earlier, Muzhenko said: "I think it should have been planned with the prospect of success in the direction of the main strike, and then the possibility of the convergence of these two groups in some specific place."

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On November 21, the Defense Intelligence reported that the formation of military bases on the east bank of Kherson Oblast came as a surprise to the Russians and provoked panic among the occupiers.

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