Russia launches first-ever assault across dried Dnipro reservoir

Today, the biggest news comes from the Zaporizhia direction.

Here, Russian forces attempted to advance further into Prymorske through the swamps of the Dnipro reservoir to surprise the defenders. However, the Ukrainians were observing their movement from their stronghold on the hill and devastated the approaches with drones, while high-speed clearing teams moved in for the kill.

Russia’s tactical goal is to take Prymorske under control, consolidate its gains, and advance further north along the reservoir toward Zaporizhia city. Russian forces need to take Prymorske because the village would allow them to amass troops and supplies and use it as a staging ground for further operations north or east. Notably, the Zaporizhia defense lines are located east of the settlement and oriented southward, providing no meaningful protection against Russian flanking attacks. This would allow the Russians to outflank these fortifications without directly assaulting them, thereby avoiding significant losses.

To achieve this, Russian forces are employing their characteristic infiltration tactics, actively attempting to enter the village from Plavni and penetrate the central sector of Prymorske by moving along the bottom of the Kakhovka reservoir. Their second attack axis runs across the dried bed of the Dnipro River itself, enabling an attempted infiltration of the settlement from the west and striking the defenders from a direction they are less prepared to defend. With the reservoir now almost entirely desiccated following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, Russian forces can finally advance over it, creating conditions for a bolder and potentially more disruptive assault.

Ukrainian defenses in this sector of the front line are relatively limited, consisting mainly of trench fortifications, with the main defensive lines located farther east. Russia’s other advantage is the position of Prymorske: the southern part of the village contains many cottages that provide cover for attacking forces. The dried-up reservoir also gives them a significant advantage, as the Russians can walk along the full length of the Ukrainian flank, which is no longer protected by the river. However, the only areas they can get into are sparse housing districts, not the main core of the Ukrainian defense. The Ukrainian forces are positioned farther to the rear in a fortified trench complex built around a dispersed cluster of houses, supported by a communication trench extending more than a kilometer into the rear, from which the broader defensive effort is coordinated.

If we take a look at the topographic map, we can see that from their vantage point, the Ukrainian defenses occupy high ground overlooking the reservoir. This enables the placement of thermal cameras, and it provides superior drone signal propagation, enhanced observation capability, and improved fields of fire. The village is only 1 kilometer wide and is located in the lowlands, making it easy for the defenders to spot Russian infiltrators. Hereafter, Ukrainian FPV’s are dispatched, and clearing teams move in to eliminate the infiltrators, directed from the fortress on the hill.

As a result, the southern outskirts of the village are largely a gray zone, with Russians unable to consolidate there. Geolocated footage shows how Russian soldiers are trying to run away inside Prymorske after being spotted by Ukrainian reconnaissance drones.

Ukrainian drone units quickly dispatched their FPV’s and systematically eliminated the infiltrators one by one, despite their attempts to evade detection and conceal themselves in surrounding vegetation. This instance shows that it is difficult to move around in such a narrow settlement without being spotted.

Additional footage from the village depicts Ukrainian soldiers storming houses, while their commanders closely coordinate and direct their actions, monitoring their movements in real time through a reconnaissance drone. Dispatched from the fortress on the hill, Ukrainians are conducting clearing operations to prevent the Russians from accumulating sufficient forces after infiltrating the village.

Overall, Russia’s approach is to infiltrate the village from the south, and the reservoir didn’t bring results, because they are hunted down by Ukrainian drone units, even if the attackers manage to get inside the village.

Infiltration into Prymorske is possible, but staying alive and amassing sufficient forces to conduct assault operations is difficult due to the high drone density and Ukrainian overlook. Attacking from the south is even more difficult due to the terrain, so even if the Russian command changes its approach, it will likely yield the same results.