Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is considering “very carefully” the announcement by Russia that it plans to withdraw its troops from the southern city of Kherson. The president of Ukraine asked his citizens to be cautious, saying that their enemy did not distribute gifts and did not make “gestures of goodwill”.
Russia’s announced withdrawal comes just weeks after President Putin said he was annexing Kherson and three other Ukrainian regions, none of which were entirely occupied by Russian forces. The commander of the Russian forces in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, described the decision as difficult. He said the defenses would be consolidated to the east, concentrating on the other side of the Dnipro River from Kherson.
Gb
“Russia’s ability to maintain its forces on the west bank of the Dnieper has been put under pressure due to Ukrainian attacks on Russian supply routes. During their retreat, Russian forces destroyed several bridges and likely planted mines to slow down. and delaying the advance of Ukrainian forces. The loss of the western part of Kherson is likely to prevent Russia from realizing its strategic aspiration to build a land bridge to Odessa. ” So Britain’s intelligence comments on Twitter.
The British Defense Ministry stressed that, with few river crossing points, Russian troops would be vulnerable. “The retreat is likely to last several days with defensive positions and artillery fire covering the forces,” the report said.
Turkey
The Russian decision to withdraw its military from Kherson is positive, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at a press conference organized before leaving for Uzbekistan, answering a question about the prospects of starting peace negotiations.
US analysts
The battle for Kherson is not over, but Russia’s latest decisions point to a new phase. This was stated by the American Institute for the Study of War, according to which “the Russian troops have entered now they prefer an organized withdrawal of the troops instead of trying to completely stop the Ukrainian counter-offensive”. For American analysts, the Ukrainian advance in the Kherson region, underway since August, “probably proved successful and Russia’s withdrawal from the western bank of the Dnieper is certainly not a trap aimed at luring Ukrainian troops into a difficult battle. near Kherson “, as some Ukrainian and Western sources suggest.
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