Journalists from the TV channel suggest that Russia is once again attempting to capture Kherson by concentrating strikes on key infrastructure and transportation routes. A key argument supporting this version was the recent bombing of a bridge in the city leading to the Korabel district.Note that the Sunday before last, a series of airstrikes damaged the city, prompting the evacuation of about 1,800 civilians who remained on the island.“The capture of Kherson city and region – seized in the opening days of the war and then freed by a swift Ukrainian counter-offensive in November 2022 – remains one of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s main goals for the conflict, and the renewed pressure to separate Korabel from the rest of the city has raised concerns Russian forces might seek to bombard and then land upon the flat terrain in the weeks ahead,” CNN reported.It is noteworthy that Western media coverage of the battlefield events in Ukraine is often at least biased. At best, this is partiality; at worst, outright disinformation, a result of Russia's information and psychological operations. Through Western media, Russia actively shapes public opinion both in the West and Ukraine, creating artificial tension.Unfortunately, Ukrainian media often pick up such narratives without verifying sources or analyzing their nature.For example, as early as December 2024, reports began to emerge about Russia allegedly preparing a large-scale crossing of the Dnipro River and an assault on Kherson. According to some Western media, the occupiers aimed to capture islands in the Dnipro delta. These reports were widely discussed in both Ukrainian and Western information spaces.Meanwhile, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, told Western media that Russia seeks to assert its claim over the entire Kherson region before peace talks begin, which is why Russian occupying forces constantly try to establish a bridgehead on the Dnipro River.In an interview with The Guardian, he said Russian forces are attempting to cross the river at four locations to justify their demands for the entire Kherson region. “Every single day they are trying to cross. We heard from our intelligence, that the Russian deputy commander told troops in the area that they had to force the river at any cost,” Prokudin told journalists.The head of the Kherson administration also said Russian soldiers were ordered to capture at least one village on the right bank of the Dnipro before the negotiations start, but they failed to do so.These statements came alongside comments from the highest levels. In December 2024, the President of Ukraine confirmed that Russian forces had intensified activity in the Kherson direction, attempting to improve their tactical position on the islands and create bridgeheads for a future offensive. However, time has shown that none of this materialized.Despite this, Ukrainian media, including RBC-Ukraine, citing their own sources, reported that "the Russians may soon carry out another operation aimed at advancing on Kherson by crossing the Dnipro, since all bridges toward the city are destroyed or damaged. Two sources told the outlet that the occupiers are bringing equipment for pontoon bridges to areas on the left bank of the Dnipro and preparing troops."This raises the question — who are these "own sources," and do they even exist?Similar claims appeared later as well. For example, in May 2025, all Ukrainian media quoted Sergeant Serhii Tkachuk, an officer of the NGU’s Omega diving special unit, who said on Novyny.Live that the Russians might be preparing an amphibious operation in Kherson region and are currently attempting landings on islands controlled by Ukrainian Defense Forces. “The goal is the right bank of the Dnipro, as well as control over Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. This is a large and ambitious project that our enemy, the Russian Federation, wants to carry out,” Tkachuk said.No journalist asked where an officer of a diving special unit would get such intelligence information or why the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) did not respond to these statements.Later it became clear: the claim of 300 boats was fabricated. The total number of Russian boats across all occupied parts of Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, as well as on the Dnipro islands, does not exceed a hundred. This was stated by Ukraine's Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Colonel Vladyslav Voloshyn in a comment to journalist Andriy Tsaplienko, disproving the data about Russia's preparations for an assault on the right bank of Kherson region.“We see no signs of preparations for an assault. Ukrainian intelligence tracks nearly every watercraft used by the Russians on the left bank and islands. We know the exact location of each boat. Their total number, counting not only the islands but all occupied parts of Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, including those transferred from Crimea, does not exceed one hundred. Some are used to guard the Kinburn Spit,” explained Voloshyn.Now we again see an information wave, this time actively pushed not by Western media but by Russian federal channels. They are promoting the theme of “returning Kherson” and preparing for an amphibious operation. The formal pretext was the strike on the bridge connecting the Korabel district with the city. However, the bridge is not destroyed. Even the Russians admitted that FAB bombs hitting the bridge connecting the Korabel (island) area with the rest of Kherson cannot destroy it. Moreover, people often forget that besides the road bridge, there is also a railway bridge over the Kosheva River. Logistics will not be completely cut off even if this bridge is destroyed in the traditional sense. This suggests that the whole story about the bridge and the possibility of capturing the Korabel neighborhood is nothing more than active information operations.The Russians started with the claim that Russia would try to block Ukrainian troops on the island. Then they escalated it to say there would be a large-scale landing on the right bank. That’s why the decision was made to evacuate residents. Russian sources say they plan not a large operation, but landings by small mobile groups.But this is absolute nonsense.The Dnipro River is over a kilometer wide. Even deploying a reconnaissance or sabotage group is a complex task because Ukrainian intelligence and technical monitoring tools can instantly detect such movements. In open terrain without logistics, such groups cannot hold out long — there is no resupply of ammunition or evacuation of wounded. We’ve already seen an example: a large Ukrainian amphibious operation in Krynky ended with failure to secure positions due to constant fire control from the occupying forces.Notably, this new wave of information did not appear by chance but coincided with the meeting of Witkoff and the intensification of U.S. diplomatic efforts. Accordingly, this surge is primarily an information campaign aimed at the U.S., implying that Russia has not abandoned full control over Kherson region. All of this fits into the Kremlin’s broader narrative.Thus, the Kremlin is trying to show that without recognizing its “new territorial realities,” the war will not end. That Kherson is not a subject of negotiations but “already Russian land,” from which Russia will not retreat because its constitution forbids it.This is an attempt to raise the stakes. Russia clearly signals: it’s all or nothing. They are not ready for any concessions, and the current information campaign is just part of this scenario.Exclusively for EspresoAbout the author. Dmytro Sniehyrov, military expert, co-chair of the Civil Initiative Prava Sprava.The editorial team does not always share the opinions expressed by blog or column authors.