Residents cheered as Ukrainian troops arrived in the centre of Kherson on Friday, after Russia abandoned the sole regional capital it has occupied since the beginning of its invasion in February.
‘Today is a momentous occasion. We are regaining control of the country’s south and Kherson,’ in an evening video message, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated.
‘Our defenders are currently on the outskirts of the city, and we are on the verge of invading. However, special units are already present in the city, he stated.
Russia claimed to have withdrew 30,000 troops across the Dnipro River with no casualties. However, Ukrainians portrayed an image of a disorderly retreat, with Russian troops abandoning their uniforms, losing their weapons, and drowning while fleeing.
The withdrawal was Russia’s third major retreat of the war, and the first to include surrendering such a large occupied city in the face of a major Ukrainian counter-offensive that has retaken sections of the east and south.
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