Russian Troops Told To Withdraw
(HorizonPost.com) – Russian troops have withdrawn from the critical city of Kherson in southern Ukraine, indicating a major loss for the Kremlin, according to a report from the Daily Caller. At the end of September, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that he had annexed annexed 15% of Ukraine, including Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and the self-declared independent People’s Republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Now, however, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has announced the decision to withdraw from Kherson during televised remarks. Russia’s top commander said that the “difficult” choice will “preserve lives of servicemen and combat readiness of forces.”
“We will save the lives of our soldiers and fighting capacity of our units. Keeping them on the right (western) bank is futile. Some of them can be used on other fronts,” Gen. Sergei Surovikin said, according to Reuters.
Surovikin also reportedly said that it had become impossible to supply Russian troops in the city and the retreat was complete after all military equipment and soldiers were moved to the opposite bank of the Dnipr.
Fairly reliable Russian sources reporting that Russian forces have pulled back from Snihurivka in Kherson Oblast, which had previously served as a defensive anchor point in their northern frontline. https://t.co/mh0jxMNIZ4 pic.twitter.com/7lZtvArROJ
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) November 9, 2022
Ukrainian forces had moved in on the city in October, after months of alleging a counteroffensive. The measure was initially planned for August, but Ukraine was held back by Russian strongholds.
Once the strike became imminent, Russia worked on evacuating tens of thousands of residents in preparation. While Russian officials denied the surrender, Russian-appointed governor Vladimir Saldo continued to advise residents to leave.
The Ukrainian military is suspicious of the Russian retreat, suspecting that they will withdraw to urban areas for offensive warfare, which was the same difficult conditions Russian troops confronted during the first nine months of the invasion.
“We have signs they are pulling out,” said Col. Roman Kostenko, chairman of the defense and intelligence committee in Ukraine’s Parliament. “They blew up bridges that would have allowed our forces to advance. We see them leaving population centers, but in some they leave soldiers behind to cover their movements.”
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