The Russian evacuation of Kherson is now well underway, leaving an expected trail of destruction in its wake. Russian soldiers are publishing bitter videos as they retreat, with one saying that ‘defending the city with these supplies would be complete madness’ and another adding ‘I hope we will return’.
Local reports say fleeing Russians are destroying infrastructure in the area – the region’s energy supplier and TV centre were reportedly blown up today. Russian troops are also placing mines on roads and settlements, in preparation for the Ukrainian army.
Meanwhile the Ukrainian advance continues, with dozens of settlements west and north of Kherson liberated today. The Ukrainian flag has been raised in the regained village of Snihurivka, meaning the whole region of Mykolaiv Oblast has been liberated. Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, commander in chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, has also confirmed that the army has liberated 12 settlements in Kherson Oblast. ‘The front line of the enemy is already ours’, says a Ukrainian soldier.
Videos published by Ukrainian soldiers show locals meeting the army with Ukrainian flags, with some hugging the soldiers, some crying and others singing the national anthem.
With liberation comes news of the horrors of occupation. In the video below an old woman can be seen telling soldiers that ‘two people were tortured and killed, one we still can’t find’. Ukrainian investigators will soon arrive in the liberated villages and towns to document Russian war crimes as they did in Izyum and Bucha. Ukrainian troops are expected to regain control of Kherson itself in the following days – with Zelensky warning Moscow about any rash actions in response.
The retreat itself could still be a bluff, with the Russians preparing to bomb Kherson or blow up the Kakhovka dam when Ukrainian troops move in. This could lead to the Ukrainian army and more than 80 villages and towns – including Kherson – being wiped out. ‘Any attempt to blow up the Kakhovka power plant and flood our territory and dehydrate the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant will mean that you are declaring war on the whole world’, said Zelensky in his address last night.
Putin’s decision to withdraw from Kherson seems to be his most rational decision since the invasion. The city, located on the western bank of the Dnipro river – which Putin recently declared to be part of Russia – was practically impossible to hold. The right bank bridgehead in the Kherson region had been earmarked by Moscow for possible attacks on Mykolaiv and Odesa, but the Russian army did not have the strength and means to start this offence.
Now Putin can use his evacuated troops in other hotspots on the frontline, especially for invading Bakhmut. Bakhmut sits on a main road leading to the Ukrainian-held cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. While Russia is struggling elsewhere in Ukraine, its forces have made progress around the city in recent weeks. Putin is being forced to lower his expectations, and his goal now seems to be to eventually cut off Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts from Ukraine. He then hopes to force Kyiv to give up the two regions and Crimea in Russia’s favour.
Kyiv, meanwhile, is sticking to its own plan. It wants to liberate every centimeter of Ukrainian territory – including Crimea. Moscow seems to recognise this: strikingly, Russian troops have been spotted digging new trenches in northern Crimea in preparation for an attack. They weren’t doing that in the opening weeks of the war.
Recently Zelensky confirmed his readiness for negotiations – but only when Russia leaves Ukraine and pays reparations. This week Ukraine has been able to hope for a military victory against Russia. But there is still much to do until Kherson itself is safe, and the rest of the Russian-occupied territories are liberated.
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