24.Voloshyn's statement comes amid an anticipated large-scale Russian advance in Kherson Oblast. In early December, Russian troops were carrying out assaults in the southern region to gain a foothold on islands in the Dnipro River delta.From the new foothold, Russian forces could fire on Kherson and the Ukrainian military units located in the coastal zone on the western bank of the Dnipro, Voloshyn said.Russian forces conduct five to seven assaults by small infantry groups in this area of the front line every day to "detect weaknesses in Ukrainian defense," according to the official."The enemy has launched similar assaults on Kozatsky Island, and for several days in a row, they (Russian forces) have been trying to land on Velykyi Potemkin Island, and before that, they tried to land on the southern island of Zabych," Voloshyn said, adding that Russia also carried out similar assaults near the Antonivskyi bridges two weeks ago.These efforts are not an attempt to make "a big assault or force the Dnipro River," the spokesman said.