appearance Oskil river dam effects. A scene that looks like a thick fog painted gray apocalyptic. The hydroelectric complex was blown up, split in two, the locks fell into the water and tense waters run under the huge mass of concrete and twisted iron that used to connect the two shores. Here, until the withdrawal of Russia at the end of last summer, disgusting conflicts. Now in some areas the point of contact with the river is less close, but in others Oskil still has Russian-controlled areas and Ukrainian troops, the The conflict continues intensely.
crossing rivers According to various military experts, a challenge in attacks and counterattacks in Ukraine for Russians and Ukrainians, as river channels can to complicate the passage of mechanized and armored when bridges collapse and flows are plentiful. Wounded nature at Oskil testifies to this. The dam was blown up during the Russian withdrawal, the nearby forests were blackened by fire and the shores are mined. A small red billboard with a white skullwarns him.
Fisherman Oleg Borisovich he climbs through the rubble, dodges a crater without fear of falling into the water, and nods from one of the highest points of what’s left of the dam. While the Soviet Union still exists, geologist knows every corner of these waters where cranes, carp and sea bream live. “I caught a 50-pound fish here before the war,” he says proudly and continues to come to the area, greeting another fisherman in a yellow raincoat. Today actually fishing didn’t go too bad either.
restrain the russians
Since the dam is no longer working, the water level has risen, there are fish where there was none and booty hardly disappoints those who, in difficult times, prefer to live on what the river brings rather than canned food. But Borisovich is also worried about this. “I have seen these rivers since I was little; It’s sad to see how we men cut our arms. First the climate crisis, now this war is turning everything upside down,” he complains. “This dam is located above the Oskil River. be born Russia is part of a system used with Donets. supply some Donetsk cities and businesses“, explain. “But from a military point of view, this river is in the past and now, A barrier for both sides“says.
About 15 kilometers away, Maxim StrelmilovThe official of the regional administration of nearby Izium, which was recaptured by Ukraine in the same weeks, also explains how the river, Donets, passes through the city, stopped the advance of Russian troops in the first months of the occupation. “They were not able to pass quickly and therefore were unable to encircle the Ukrainian battalions in the Donbas,” says this official standing in front of him. pontoon bridge Placed by Ukraine during their counterattack and now abandoned and sunk in the cold, icy waters of the river.
“Donets It divides the north and south of the city of Izium into two.. The Russians succeeded in capturing the northern part on March 7, but It took more than a month to pass the Donets. Nature helped us,” continues Strelmilov. “This is one of the largest rivers in Ukraine. It has a very wide channel, in some places its depth reaches 5 meters. Where we are now was a city beach where children, tourists and locals rested. The depth in this place is 1.5 meters,” he explains.
Southern Bug and Dnieper
According to Strelmilov, Russian troops were finally able to take the entire city only after a while. collaborators (Ukrainian citizens helping Russian forces) will show you “another point” to cross. “This way they were able to occupy the city on April 1st,” he says. Even if, lost time “prevented the encirclement of soldiers those located in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions, which at that time were the most prepared units. When they took Izium, the Ukrainian army had already built a defensive line in the direction of Sloviansk,” he adds.
Donets and Oskil are not alone strategically considered rivers In the war in Ukraine, due to the difficulty of passing them safely, that is, without the enemy noticing. Another example is southern beetleIt was feared that Russian troops would cross to take Odessa. But an even more famous case is Rio’s. dnieperAround Kherson , also a city retaken in recent months , which now serves as a border of about 300 kilometers between Russians and Ukrainians .
According to a public report by the UK Ministry of Defense in February, clashes and raids continued there. in the delta’s expanding network of islands and waterways Dnieper because Russia withdrew From the west bank of this river in November 2022. In particular, “Russian forces almost certainly used small boats to maintain their presence on key islands; Ukraine has successfully deployed long-range artillery several times to neutralize the activities of Russian outposts.” Activities, such as those of the Russians, believed to be carried out “to control access to this strategically important river” and deter new attack attempts by the enemies.