>>I hope I am reading this right, and it’s the bridge, not the locks.

If you look at a topo map (or use Google Earth) you can see that Kherson is on a rise, the other side of the Dnieper (which shows as Dnipro on G.Earth) is lowlands. I've seen sat photos of earthworks (mostly trenches) on that side. Dropping the dam or blowing the sluice gates would flood that side first. I'm not saying they wouldn't do that, but it would be a spectacularly dumb move, and someone on the RF side might have a clue.

Just a thought - from someone who really sucks at woodland navigation, so take with plenty of salt.