Kherson region is the first Ukrainian region that the Russian Federation almost completely captured after the start of a full-scale invasion. It took the Russian military just a few weeks to do this.. This fact is still actively discussed in Ukrainian society..

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the Council for National Security and Defense of Ukraine, even announced the involvement of law enforcement agencies in order to find possible culprits for the rapid surrender of the region, writes the Current Time TV channel..

What happened on February 24, 2022? At about 3:45 a.m., the Russian military tried to break through from the annexed Crimea through the Kalanchak checkpoint.. 8:45 a.m. The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine has already published a video from the Chongar checkpoint: dozens of military vehicles with Russian symbols are heading from the annexed Crimea to the mainland of Ukraine - to the Kherson region. The offensive was carried out simultaneously in several directions.. Already around noon on February 24, a video appeared from the side of the Kakhovskaya HPP. The same technique, the same Z-symbols and helicopters in the sky. That is, in about eight hours, the Russian military was already deep in the Kherson region.

On the evening of February 24, the head of the region, Gennady Laguta, on his Facebook called on citizens not to panic, assured that no one had surrendered Kherson, the regional authorities were working, and the Ukrainian military was rebuffing the Russian army. Laguta also said that there were strong battles for the automobile and pedestrian Antonovsky bridge across the Dnieper in Kherson.. This is a direct road not only to another part of the region, but also to neighboring regions.

The battles for the Antonovsky Bridge were really heavy.. On the other side of the Dnieper on the afternoon of February 25, there were probably still Ukrainian policemen. And in the evening of the same day, the authorities reported: the Russian army took control of the Antonovsky bridge, the Ukrainian military were forced to retreat.

In the first days of the war, the Russian military occupied several large settlements in the Kherson region at once: Genichesk, Skadovsk, Oleshki, Golaya Pristan, Kakhovka, Novaya Kakhovka and the crossing over the Dnieper there. One more. In most cases, the Russian military first surrounded the settlements, blocking the entrances to them with checkpoints..

In Kherson itself, the Russian military began to take up positions in early March.. The local population actively resisted this.. Massive protests took place in the city. The Russian military did not interfere with them at first. But a little later, they switched to active opposition: they began to use stun grenades, open fire in the air and detain especially active Kherson residents. The city council of Kherson was occupied by the Russian military on April 25.

Why Kherson region was captured so quickly? Did they resist the Armed Forces enough Did the Ukrainian command make the right strategic decisions Could the local authorities have contributed to the rapid capture of the region Questions to which there are still no answers. It was with the capture of the Kherson region that the occupation of other territories in the south of Ukraine began.. This even made it possible to encircle Mariupol.

Journalist, editor-in-chief of the Censor. no" The Russian military quietly use them. Who is responsible for this? Cities captured, surrendered without a fight. The largest in Europe Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Energodar was captured, where the enemy entered and captured on the fifth day of the war, having passed without a fight..

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky was in the Kherson region 12 days before the war. Against the backdrop of reports from Western intelligence and the world press about an imminent invasion in the region, exercises were held on February 12. Defense positions in the Kherson region, according to statements by Ukrainian officials, began to be built back in 2014, after the annexation of Crimea by Russia. The Kherson region has repeatedly been called "

Before the invasion, analysts from the Conflict Inteligence Team drew attention to the rapid buildup of Russian weapons in Crimea.

" There were a large number of camps, ammunition depots. Pipeline troops were brought there to ensure the supply of fuel. There were many airfields there even before the annexation. Russian aviation could successfully operate from these airfields. Planes, helicopters, which were also deployed before the war,” explained Kirill Mikhailov, CIT analyst.

According to military analyst Sergei Grabsky, about 90,000 Russian troops were concentrated in Crimea on the day of the invasion, and about 35,000 moved into the Kherson region on the day of the offensive.. They were opposed by 15 thousand Ukrainian soldiers in the Kherson region. The units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as the expert says, were forced to retreat, providing " Grabsky does not rule out that subjective reasons could also play a role in the issue of the rapid advance of Russian troops in the region..

" Zrada total, and all. But zrada is not only total betrayal and conscious assistance to the enemy. Bungling, negligence, disregard for tasks can also be attributed to zrada. In no case can this factor be discarded,"

The question that arises most often: why were the facilities through which the Russian military drove from the annexed Crimea to the Kherson region not mined “As for the rumors about the alleged “non-mining” of Chongar, we report that the bridge was mined, but we were opposed by enemy forces that were 15 times superior. All conclusions about the legitimacy of the decisions taken during the hostilities will be made in the manner prescribed by law after they are completed,"

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, also spoke about the investigation of law enforcement agencies in the matter of the quick capture of the Kherson region.. But we must not forget about another fact, which the Ukrainian president has repeatedly paid attention to, is weapons! Or rather, its absence in the right quantities on February 24: modern, powerful and accurate. Now, thanks to the active support of the West, it is much larger, which is why statements about the imminent counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army are heard more often.. Including the Kherson region. Time is also important. And not only because of the accumulation of Western weapons.

Military expert Sergei Grabsky draws attention to the fact that Russian forces are now concentrated in the Kherson region not as densely as they were three months ago.. They are forced to hold other southern territories. And also geography! It is such that the Russian side is faced with the problem of replenishing resources.

" They do not have a developed road network.

They reached the limit of their capabilities, based on the forces and means that they possess,"

The geography of the area and supply problems in the south, the expert is sure, give reason to believe that the Russian military will not go further than the positions currently occupied. While the proximity of the occupied territory harms the Mykolaiv region the most. It is from Kherson that it is most often fired upon by multiple launch rocket systems. Kirill Mikhailov from the Conflict Intelligence Team admits that Ukraine may launch a counteroffensive in southern Ukraine as early as July-August.

Source: Crimea. realities.