Volodymyr Zelensky hailed a ‘historic day’ as Ukraine’s military entered Kherson on Friday after the retreat of Russian forces.
“Kherson is ours”, Ukraine’s president wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine’s military said earlier an “operation to liberate Kherson” was under way as Russia announced it had completed a troop withdrawal in what appears to be a major setback for Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
Moscow relinquished its final foothold in the major city in southern Ukraine - allowing Kyiv’s forces to move towards reclaiming the country’s only Russian-occupied provincial capital.
Russia’s Defence Ministry said its troops finished withdrawing from the western bank of the river that divides Ukraine’s Kherson region at 5am local time on Friday.
Videos and photos circulating on social media showed local residents cheerfully taking to the streets and a Ukrainian flag flying over a monument in a central Kherson square for the first time since early March, when the city was seized by the Russians. Some footage showed crowds cheering on men in military uniform.
Ukrainian intelligence urged Russian soldiers who might still be in the city to surrender in the anticipation of Kyiv's forces arriving.
The final Russian withdrawal came six weeks after President Putin illegally annexed the Kherson region and three other Ukrainian provinces, vowing they would remain Russian forever.
