Russia has managed to evacuate all its men from Kherson, a withdrawal at the ‘height’ of the invasion: they have left the land mined and the Antonovski bridge, of great strategic importance, has collapsed. On the Dnipro River, it is the only one left standing to link the city with the occupied territories on the other bank. The closest alternative is now 70 kilometers away.
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The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, did not want to pronounce on the failure in Jersón. The only message that has transpired about this defeat has been Igor KonashenkovDefense Ministry spokesman, in writing and to report that the withdrawal of Russian troops has been completed “at five in the morning Moscow time” and to ensure that there have been no casualties.
Konashénkov underlines in his message that they have not left behind “not a single piece”. This last declaration takes us back to September, when the invaders fled from Kharkov in a hurry, leaving behind a large quantity of weapons and military vehicles, which remained in Ukrainian hands.
the biggest defeat
The commander of the Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikinannounced on Wednesday the withdrawal from Kherson, considered the biggest defeat suffered by Moscow since the start of the military campaign in February. The reason is the inability to guarantee the defense of that territory annexed a month and a half ago in the face of the numerical superiority of the enemy.
The Ukrainian authorities have reacted skeptically to the news, arguing that the withdrawal could actually be an ambush, while international media pointed out that the battle for control of the city of Kherson is not yet over. “The enemy does not give us anything (…). We achieved all this by fighting,” said the president Volodymyr Zelensky.
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According to the Ukrainian portal Ukrinform, which provides a photograph, the Ukrainian flag is already waving in the center of Kherson, while calls for caution regarding the Russian withdrawal by kyiv follow one another. According to that medium, the “Ukrainian patriots” have hung the banner in the Plaza de la Libertad, in front of the regional administration building.
In his last message to the nation, Zelensky said that of the 300,000 square kilometers mined by the Russian occupiers in his country, 170,000 remain to be cleared, which he considers essential to restore the conditions of normal life in the liberated territories.
