Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday ordered his troops to withdraw from the western bank of the Dnipro River in the face of Ukrainian attacks near the southern city of Kherson, a major setback and possible turning point in the war.
Ukraine reacted cautiously to the announcement. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said some Russian forces are still in Kherson.
“There is no point in talking about Russia’s withdrawal until the Ukrainian flag flies over Kherson,” Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told Reuters.
The city of Kherson has been the only regional capital captured by Russia since February’s invasion, and its abandonment would be a major setback for what Moscow calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine.
In televised statements, General Sergei Surovikin in charge of the war said that it was no longer possible to supply the city of Kherson. He stated that he offered to take over the defensive lines on the east bank of the river.
Shoigu replied to Surovikin: “I agree with your conclusions and recommendations. Continue the withdrawal of troops and take all measures to transfer power along the river.”
The news comes after weeks of Ukraine marching into the city and Russia rushing to resettle tens of thousands of its residents.
“We will save the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of our troops. It is useless to keep them on the right (west) bank. Some of them can be used on other fronts,” Surovikin said.
In recent weeks there has been speculation that Moscow could withdraw its forces from the west bank of the Dnipro or engage in a bloody war in the coming days or weeks.
Earlier on Wednesday, the main bridge of a road near the town of Kherson was blown up.
Vitaly Kim, the Ukrainian governor of the Mykolaiv region on the Kherson border, claimed that the Ukrainian forces had expelled some Russians: “Russian soldiers are complaining that they have already been expelled from there,” Kim said on his Telegram channel.
The announcement of the withdrawal was expected by influential Russian war bloggers, who described it as a serious blow.
“It looks like we’re leaving town, how painful it is to write about it now,” said the War Gonzo blog, which has more than 1.3 million subscribers on Telegram.
“Yes, this is a black page in the history of the Russian army. A tragic page of the Russian state.”
source: Noticias
