Russia begins troop withdrawal from Kherson; Ukraine remains on high alert

Russian troops began their withdrawal from Kherson on Thursday, after the Kremlin announced on November 9 that it would abandon the city of the same name in the region that it had previously annexed to its territory.

The commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, said that the liberation of Kherson would be carried out “in a short time”.

Thus, the Dnieper River becomes the new natural border and the battle front between Russia and Ukraine.

“Under these conditions, the most reasonable option is to organize the defense on the natural barrier of the river,” Russian General Sergei Surovikin explained. The Dnieper is the fourth longest river in Europe, with more than 2,200 kilometers in length.

Russian military spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in his daily report that Russian military units are being evacuated to the west side of the Dnieper River.

According to Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, his country has liberated a total of 12 settlements in Kherson in recent hours, which were occupied since March 1, when the invasion began.

According to the military high command, units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine advanced seven kilometers, took control of six settlements and returned up to 107 square kilometers of territory to Ukraine.

Zaluzhnyi also said that since Oct. 1, Ukrainian troops have advanced 36.5 kilometers into the Russian defense and the total area of ​​recovered territory would exceed 1,300 square kilometers in the region that had been annexed by Russia.

The Ukrainian presidential adviser, Myhailo Podolyak, said this Thursday that Russia wants to turn Kherson into a “city of death”, after accusing them of having mined the territory that they began to evict.

“The Russian military mine everything they can: apartments, sewers. The artillery on the left bank of the Dnieper River, they plan to turn the city into ruins. This is what the ‘Russian world’ looks like: it came, it stole, it celebrated, it killed witnesses, left ruins and left,” the presidential adviser said on his Twitter account.

Russian forces, weakened?

The Ukrainian defense forces emphasized that they managed to weaken Russia after destroying the logistics routes and the support system of the enemy Army in the region. Likewise, they said it is not certain if they will stop their offensive.

“At the moment we cannot deny or confirm the information about the alleged withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson. We continue the offensive operation according to our plan,” said Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromov.

“In this way we leave the enemy no other way out than flight (…) Just as the enemy left kyiv, from the Kharkiv region, left the Serpent Island, the probable withdrawal from Kherson is the result of our operations active,” he added.

According to US Chief of Staff Mark Milley, Russia has suffered more than 100,000 casualties, dead and wounded, during its so-called “special operation” invasion. Ukraine would have a similar number, according to the US military.

Reactions and skepticism

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg celebrated from Rome the pressure to which Russia is subjected by the Ukrainian forces, after saying that the greatest proof that this is happening is that the forces commanded by Putin are withdrawing .

“We are taking note of the announcements of the Russian withdrawal from Kherson and we have to see how it plays out in the coming days, but what is clear is that Russia is under heavy pressure and if they liberate Kherson it would be another victory for Ukraine,” he said. at a press conference with the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni.

The leader took the opportunity to ask for the help of European countries, after assuring that the security of the continent “has been challenged” by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He added that NATO will continue to support Ukraine “as long as it takes.”

For his part, the newly appointed British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, had a telephone conversation with the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelensky, in which the two agreed to maintain “caution” with the Russian withdrawal.

The two leaders celebrated the “solid progress” of the Ukrainian forces and the “weakness of the Russian military offensive.” Still, “the right thing to do is continue to exercise caution until the Ukrainian flag is raised over the city,” the two leaders agreed.

The Government of the United Kingdom confirmed that it is about to complete the delivery of 1,000 additional surface-to-air missiles for the defense of the Ukrainian Army, as well as 25,000 pieces of equipment capable of withstanding the low temperatures expected on the battlefield this winter.

Zelensky thanked Europe for its support and recalled the importance of maintaining “international coordination” ahead of the G20 meeting next week.

With EFE and Reuters