RUSSIA PULLS TROOPS OUT OF KHERSON; “WE SEE NO SIGNS, SAYS UKRAINE

Wed 09 November 2022:

On Wednesday, the defense minister of Russia gave the order to move Russian troops from Kherson, a port city in southern Ukraine, to the Dnieper River’s east bank.

“Proceed with the withdrawal of troops and take all measures to ensure the safe transfer of personnel, weapons, and equipment across the Dnieper River,” Sergey Shoygu told Sergey Surovikin, commander of the Russian military group in Ukraine.

Shoygu stressed that the decision to retreat was made to save the lives of Russian soldiers.

Last month, some 60,000 residents of Ukraine’s Kherson region, then under Russian control, were evacuated amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive.

For his part, Surovikin said the military had stayed to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians, and now that their task is completed, they can withdraw.

The announcement on Wednesday followed weeks of Ukrainian advances towards the city and signalled a potentially huge blow to Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine, which it invaded in late February.

In televised comments, General Sergei Surovikin said it was no longer possible to keep Kherson city supplied.

“Having comprehensively assessed the current situation, it is proposed to take up defence along the left [eastern] bank of the Dnieper River,” said Surovikin, standing at a lectern and indicating troop positions on a map whose details were greyed-out for the TV audience.

“I understand that this is a very difficult decision, but at the same time, we will preserve the most important thing – the lives of our servicemen and, in general, the combat effectiveness of the group of troops, which it is futile to keep on the right bank in a limited area.”

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader who has frequently urged a more aggressive approach to the war and called for the use of low-grade nuclear weapons, said Surovikin had “made the difficult but right choice between senseless sacrifices for the sake of loud statements and saving the priceless lives of soldiers.”

Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group fighting for Russia in Ukraine, was quoted by the RIA news agency as saying: “The decision taken by Surovikin is not easy, but he acted like a man who is not afraid of responsibility.”

Commenting on Russia’s announcement, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said “actions speak louder than words”.

“We see no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight,” he said in a Twitter post.

Actions speak louder than words. We see no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight. A part of the ru-group is preserved in the city, and additional reserves are charged to the region. 🇺🇦 is liberating territories based on intelligence data, not staged TV statements.

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) November 9, 2022

Podolyak added that “a part” of the Russian forces was “preserved in the city, and additional reserves are charged to the region. Ukraine is liberating territories based on intelligence data, not staged TV statements.”

Kherson is one of four Ukrainian regions that Putin proclaimed in September he was incorporating into Russia “forever” after referendum condemned as illegal by Ukraine and its allies.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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