Home › Security › Russian claims of Kherson crossing on 18 October 2025
Russian claims of Kherson crossing on 18 October 2025
Summary
A look back at the Russian assertions, made in mid-October 2025, of a Dnieper crossing and entry into Kherson.
What did Russian forces say they had achieved on the Dnieper by 18 October 2025? According to Russian claims reported on 16 October, two days earlier, their troops had crossed the river and entered the city of Kherson for the first time since 2022.
The same claims said Russian forces had captured Karantynnyy Island and Maly Vilkhovy Island, both in the southwest of the city.
The wider front
The reported advance belonged to what is known as the Dnieper campaign, a series of clashes along the river in Kherson Oblast. These form part of the fighting in the southern theatre of the Russo-Ukrainian war, and involve the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Russian Armed Forces. The campaign covers fighting during and after the Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake Kherson.
What the claims meant
The assertions came from the Russian side. They described a river crossing and a presence inside Kherson, a city Russian forces had not entered since 2022, along with control of two islands in its southwest. The reports as published did not set out any Ukrainian response.
