Russia said its troops began pulling out of a strategic Ukrainian city on Thursday, a retreat that would represent a humiliating defeat in the grinding war. Ukrainian officials acknowledged Moscow’s forces had no choice but to flee but stopped short of declaring victory in Kherson.
It was difficult to know what was happening in the industrial 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.
Still, he said that Ukrainian military could not confirm or deny that Russian forces were indeed withdrawing from Kherson as the Russian Defense Ministry reported Thursday. The ministry said there was a “maneuver of units of the Russian group” to the opposite side of the Dnieper River from where Kherson lies, a day after ordering a withdrawal.
A forced pullout from the city would mark one of Russia’s worst setbacks and recapturing Kherson could allow Ukraine to win back lost territory in the south, including Crimea, which Moscow illegally seized in 2014. A Russian retreat is also almost certain to raise domestic pressure on the Kremlin to escalate the conflict.
“The initial indicators are they are in fact doing it. They made the public announcement they’re doing it. I believe they’re doing it in order to preserve their force to reestablish defensive lines south of the River, but that remains to be seen” he said at The Economic Club of New York. “The main question is whether the Ukrainians will give the Russians the opportunity to calmly withdraw, or fire at them during the crossing to the left bank,” Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said. “With the rapid withdrawal of troops, the Russians are at great risk. The bridges are in very poor condition — the personnel can be taken out on boats, but the equipment needs to be taken out only on barges and pontoons, and this is very easily shelled by the Ukrainian army.
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