Ukrainian soldiers moving onto the eastern bank of the Dnipro are apprehensive that their mission might not succeed.

No matter how quietly Ukrainian troops try to cross, Russian forces on the eastern bank of the Dnipro usually spot them. Russian drones are always watching, boat engines are loud, and there are few places to land safely.

When spotted, the Russians send drones or drop mortars. Soldiers say that bodies lost in the river are nearly impossible to recover.

Crossing the river is only the start. Afterward, they have to wade through muddy marshes and knee-deep water, exposed to attacks from mortars, artillery, tanks, drones, and aircraft, with no cover.

The soldiers stay spread out, hoping at least one person will survive to call for help.

"KAB guided bombs are the least scary," says Oleksandr, a 25-year-old scout. "You know they’ll hit, and you won’t feel anything."

Despite these dangers, soldiers call this a high-risk mission to test Russian defenses on the eastern side of Ukraine’s biggest river, about a kilometer wide near Kherson.

The Russians were driven from the western bank in fall 2022.

Nearly six months into its mission, Ukraine has managed to hold a narrow strip of land along the coast, which ranges from about 2.5 kilometers wide to as little as 300-500 meters in some spots, according to soldiers and officers.

The biggest success has been near the destroyed village of Krynky, where troops have moved about 2.5 kilometers from the river. However, they need more long-range weapons, missiles, and strong air defenses to go further, but these supplies are limited in the south, according to soldiers and experts.

Even keeping this small area is very risky because they don’t have enough ammunition, drones, boats, or thermal imaging equipment. Many soldiers say it feels “suicidal.”

“Crossing the river is almost impossible,” says Oleh, a 32-year-old drone operator who watches the strong Russian defenses from the western bank. “You get to the other side, and then what? You can’t move forward because the Russians are there, and going back is impossible because of the river.”

It’s also hard to bring in more troops to the eastern bank. There’s no time to dig into the ground, and even if they tried, they would hit water after digging just half a meter.