In a move military analysts see as further proof Russian forces are on the back foot, Ukraine’s dams are being hit with missiles in an apparent attempt to bog down Kyiv’s advancing forces.

Russia has used short-range ballistic missiles or similar weapons to strike the Pechenihy dam on the Siverskyi Donets River in northeast Ukraine, the British military says.

The attacks on September 21 and 22 followed an earlier one on the Karachunivske dam near Krivyi Rih in central Ukraine on September 15, the Defence Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin, adding that Ukrainian forces are advancing further downstream along both rivers.

Russian commanders may be attempting to strike sluice gates of the dams in order to flood Ukrainian military crossing points, the ministry said in its bulletin released on Twitter.

The attacks are unlikely to have caused significant disruption to Ukrainian operations due to distance between damaged dams and combat zones, according to the ministry.

-AAP