“Our people. Ours. Kherson,” he said alongside a Ukrainian flag emoji and amateur scenes from the city showing Ukrainian troops gathering with the city’s residents.
In his video speech, Zelensky said Special units of the armed forces have already entered the southern city of Kherson after Russia’s withdrawal, describing this moment as historic.
“Today is a historic day. We are in the process of retaking Kherson,” he added, adding that other Ukrainian forces are stationed at the city’s entrances.
In Washington, the White House praised what it considered an “extraordinary victory” for Ukraine after its forces regained Kherson following the withdrawal of the Russian army.
“It looks like the Ukrainians have just scored an extraordinary victory: the only regional capital that Russia captured in this war is now back under the Ukrainian flag, which is pretty cool,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told the press.
Russia said it completed the withdrawal across the Dnipro River without losing a single soldier, but the Ukrainians painted a picture of a chaotic withdrawal in which Russian soldiers left their uniforms and others drowned trying to escape..
The following is an overview of the reasons that give the region strategic importance in relation to the course of the war in Ukraine.
Crimean Gate
The Kherson region borders Crimea in the Black Sea, and provides Moscow with a land bridge link with the peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. The restoration of Kyiv’s control over large swathes of the Kherson region would deprive Moscow of this land corridor. It would also mean the approach of long-range Ukrainian artillery to Crimea, which Moscow considers vital to its interests..
Crimea, whose annexation by Russian President Vladimir Putin is a major achievement during his more than two decades of rule, houses a huge Russian military force and a fleet in the Black Sea that Moscow uses to project its power in the Mediterranean and the Middle East..
fresh water supply
The fresh water supply of Crimea will also be endangered if Ukraine regains the Kherson region.
After Moscow captured Crimea, Kyiv blocked the water supply through a canal branching from the Dnipro River. When Russia captured parts of the Kherson region and the neighboring Zaporizhia region to the east, it immediately moved to open the canal. Russia needs this water for the local population, for its numerous military installations, and for the irrigation of the arid lands of the peninsula.
Logistics methods
The Kherson region includes the wide estuary of the Dnipro River, which divides Ukraine. The regional capital, Kherson, is located on the western bank of the river. It was the only place Russia was on the West Bank and had massively reinforced its forces there in the past few months.
Ukrainian forces have bombed bridges over the river to impede Moscow’s ability to resupply. If Russia loses its sole position on the western side of the river, Ukraine will be better able to attack other Russian supply lines and challenge Moscow’s control over other parts of the south such as the Zaporizhia region, where Russian forces control a nuclear power plant..
“The (western) right bank is important for both sides, (for Russia) to ensure the continuation of the defense from the direction of Zaporizhia, and (for Ukraine) to liberate this side and cut off these three important arteries: the land passage to Crimea, the waters to Crimea and the restoration of the control (nuclear plant)“.
symbolic significance
Kherson was the only regional capital captured by Russian forces since the start of the war on February 24. Military analyst Oleksandr Mosenko said that the loss of Kherson would therefore be a great moral blow to the Kremlin and indicated that Russia had been unable, for the time being, to move forward to the cities of Mykolaiv and Odessa, which Moscow sought to control..
“It is clear that the loss of Kherson and the Kherson Bridge will have consequences for Russia’s image and will be viewed negatively within the country,” he added“.
control of the Black Sea
The Kherson region, which had a pre-war population of more than one million, overlooks the Black Sea. Its restoration will help Kyiv to regain control of some areas along the sea coast, which is an important artery for the export of its food commodities to foreign markets..
#Russia #withdrew #Kherson. #Zelensky #Crimean #Gate