Russia’s withdrawal from the Kherson region is now complete, Kremlin defence ministry has said.
Troops completed the retreat from the west bank of the Dnpiro river at 5am on Friday morning, according to officials. The ministry said no military equipment was left on the western bank.
It came amid unconfirmed reports on Friday afternoon that Ukrainian soldiers had entered the city.
The Russian retreat marks one of the most embarassing defeats for Russian president Vladimir Putin and a potential turning point in the war which has reached its ninth month.
It also means the loss of Kherson, the only regional capital Russia had captured in the conflict, and deals a severe blow to plans to establish a land corridor to Crimea and secure the water supply to the Russian-controlled peninsula.
Those who supported Russia’s “special military operation” have been largely critical of the withdrawal.
The War Gonzo blog, with more than 1.3 million Telegram subscribers, stated: “Apparently we will leave the city, no matter how painful it is to write about it now. In simple terms, Kherson can’t be held with bare hands. Yes, this is a black page in the history of the Russian army, of the Russian state, a tragic page.”
A Kremlin spokesman on Friday refused to acknowledge the retreat as humiliating for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dmitry Peskov told reporters Moscow continues to view the Kherson region as part of Russia.
He said the Kremlin does not regret holding festivities just over a month ago to celebrate the illegal annexation of Kherson and three other Ukrainian regions.
Shortly before the Russian announcement, the office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation in the Kherson region as “difficult”.
It reported Russian shelling of some of the villages and towns Ukrainian forces reclaimed in recent weeks during their counteroffensive in the Kherson region.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Thursday the retreating Russian troops laid mines throughout Kherson to turn it into a “city of death”. He also predicted they would shell the city after relocating across the Dnieper River.
Nikolai, a Ukrainian soldier fighting in the region, told The Telegraph Russian troops have pulled back to more “fortified positions”.
He said: “They withdraw because they suffer losses, very heavy losses. What’s more, they don’t even take the bodies of their soldiers and leave the wounded behind.”
In his evening address on Thursday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to his fallen “warriors” who gave their lives for the liberation of 41 settlements in the south.
He said: “It’s not the enemy leaving. It’s Ukrainians who drive the occupiers out at high cost.”
