Attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to force the Dnieper with the help of rubber boats are proving to be a failure, Governor of the Kherson region Vladimir Saldo said on April 16.

As the head of the region noted, the Ukrainian army stopped trying to cross the river due to the powerful and accurate fire of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

«Now the enemy very rarely makes attempts to ferry soldiers in rubber boats. Almost stopped them, you might say. All their attempts have been nullified. Due to the powerful and accurate fire of our military, this is almost impossible. All points, all approaches were repeatedly shot,» RIA Novosti quoted the governor as saying.

Earlier in the day, the Ministry of Defense showed how calculations of 122-mm D-30 howitzers of a separate marine guards unit of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed camouflaged fortified points of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) on the right bank of the Dnieper. The personnel of the D-30 battery inflicted fire damage on the identified camouflaged firing positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as destroyed an ammunition depot.

On April 6, Roman Kodryan, head of the press center of the Dnepr group of forces, reported that Russian troops had hit five AFU boats at landing sites and while trying to approach the left bank of the Dnieper.

The special operation to protect Donbass, which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.