Russia’s military announced Wednesday that it will withdraw from Ukraine’s only regional capital it captured, in what would be one of the most significant setbacks for Moscow’s forces in the eight-month war.
Ukrainian authorities, however, warned against viewing the withdrawal from Kherson, a gateway to the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula, and nearby areas as a done deal.
President Volodimir Zelensky said the Russians were faking the withdrawal from Kherson to lure the Ukrainian army into an entrenched battle in the strategic industrial port city.
Withdrawal from Kherson would be another setback after Russia’s failed attempt to capture the capital, kyiv. kyiv forces have massed the city and cut off supply lines in recent weeks as part of a broader counteroffensive in eastern and southern Ukraine that has pushed Russian troops out of wide swathes of territory.
Recapturing Kherson could allow Ukraine to regain lost territory in the Zaporizhzhia region and other southern areas, leading to an eventual pushback in Crimea.
Speaking on Russian television, Moscow’s top military commander in Ukraine pointed to a map as he informed Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday that it was impossible to supply the city of Kherson and its defense would be “futile.”
General Sergei Surovikin said 115,000 people had been relocated because their “lives are constantly in danger” and proposed a military withdrawal to the opposite bank of the Dnieper River from where Kherson is. Shoigu agreed with Surovikin’s assessment and ordered him to “begin with the withdrawal of troops and take all measures to ensure the safe transfer of personnel, weapons and equipment across the Dnieper River.”
But Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said: “actions speak louder than words. We see no signs of Russia leaving Kherson without a fight.”
Yaroslav Yanushevich, the Ukrainian-appointed governor of Kherson, called on residents “not to give in to euphoria” just yet. Another Ukrainian-appointed Kherson regional official, Serhii Khlan, told reporters that Russian forces had blown up five bridges to stop the advance of troops from kyiv.
When reports of a Russian withdrawal surfaced, Zelenskyy met with his senior military staff in kyiv to discuss the situation, including attempts to recapture territory. In addition to the counter-offensive, Ukrainian resistance fighters behind the front line have been working in Kherson, carrying out acts of sabotage and assassinations of Moscow-appointed officials.
