Ukraine’s army says don’t underestimate Russia ahead of major Kherson battle :

Ukrainian artillery unit members turn back to their position after firing toward Kherson on Friday.

Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images

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Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images

Ukrainian artillery unit members turn back to their position after firing toward Kherson on Friday.

Bulent Kilic/AFP via Getty Images

DNIPRO, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces have made significant gains over the last several weeks, recapturing wide swaths of Ukrainian territory in the east and northeast. But now they’re bracing for what could be one of their toughest battles yet: for the strategically important southern city of Kherson.

“The Russians know how to fight,” says Maj. Roman Kovalev. “They learn fast. They’re not the same forces as they were in the spring. It is hard to fight them.”

Kovalev is leading a newly reconfigured 500-person battalion to the front lines as early as next week.

As he spoke at a military camp outside Dnipro, dozens of new troops and more experienced officers were making their way through a tall field of grass during a training exercise in a camp in eastern Ukraine.

Maj. Roman Kovalev leads a newly formed 500-person battalion that is training at military camp outside Dnipro, Ukraine, on Oct. 24.

Franco Ordoñez/NPR

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Maj. Roman Kovalev leads a newly formed 500-person battalion that is training at military camp outside Dnipro, Ukraine, on Oct. 24.

Franco Ordoñez/NPR

He tells his soldiers — and anyone who will listen — that the Russian forces won’t be underprepared. The Russians have learned that the Ukrainians can fight, he says, causing them to rethink earlier efforts to quickly take large chunks of territory.

“They’re changing their tactics,” he says. “They’re moving more cautiously, trying to take our land one piece at a time.”

Retaking Kherson would thwart Russia’s goal of cutting Ukrainian access to the Black Sea

Oleksandr Musienko, a military expert based in Kyiv, says there is a lot at stake in Kherson. For the Ukrainians, taking back this regional capital would be huge for morale — and a strategic win. It would also set the…