Ukrainian officials acknowledged that Russian troops had no choice but to flee a key southern city but stopped short of declaring victory in Kherson on Thursday even after Moscow said it began a retreat that would represent a humiliating defeat in the grinding war.
It was difficult to know what was happening in the strategic port city, from which tens of thousands have fled in recent weeks. Some Western observers, including the highest-ranking U.S. military officer, said they believed the Kremlin's forces have been forced to pull out -- though a full withdrawal could take some time.
But another senior Ukrainian official offered another reason to be wary of any pullback: Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak alleged Russian forces had laid mines throughout Kherson, saying they wanted to turn it into a "city of death." Ukrainian officials have been cautious throughout the war in declaring any victories against a Russian force that at least initially outgunned and outmanned them. But their outright skepticism of Russia's announcement of a withdrawal was unusual.
Milley said Russia had amassed 20,000 to 30,000 troops in Kherson and a full retreat could take several weeks. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday also took Moscow's announcement at face value, welcoming it. But NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was more guarded, insisting the West needed to wait and see "how the situation on the ground develops in the coming days."
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