Russia’s Defense Ministry issued a military briefing on Thursday that said units of Russian troops were “maneuvering to prepared positions on the left bank of the Dnieper River, in accordance with the approved plan” announced by Moscow’s top military officials on Wednesday. . Ukraine said it was skeptical the withdrawal had actually begun, with one official saying departing Russian troops were laying mines in the city of Kherson in an attempt to turn it into a “city of death” as well as blowing up bridges over the Dnieper River. to slow the advance of Ukrainian forces. Serhiy Khlan, a member of the Kherson regional council, said the Russians were moving their equipment to the left bank of the Dnieper River and that Ukrainian forces were destroying it. Ukraine’s army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram on Thursday that Kyiv could not yet confirm whether Russia was indeed withdrawing from the region, but said Ukrainian troops had advanced four miles in the past 24 hours and recaptured 12 settlements. A woman living in a village on the border of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions salutes a Ukrainian military officer on July 25, 2022 in Mykolaiv region, Ukraine. World Pictures Ukraine | News Getty Images | Getty Images As of Oct. 1, Ukrainian forces had advanced 22.6 miles into the Kherson region and recaptured 41 settlements, Zaluzhnyi said on Telegram on Thursday. He attributed Russia’s withdrawal from part of Kherson, announced yesterday, to Ukraine destroying logistics routes and the support system, leaving Russian units with “no choice but to flee”. “At the moment, we cannot confirm or deny the information about the so-called withdrawal of the Russian occupation troops from Kherson. We are continuing the offensive operation according to our plan,” he said. A video posted on Twitter showed a damaged bridge as Ukrainian personnel moved along the Inhulets River (a tributary of the Dnieper) in the Kherson region as they headed south towards the city of Kherson. — Holly Elliott
Putin’s warmongers are stunned by Kherson’s withdrawal
Pro-Putin commentators described the retreat from Kherson as a humiliating defeat for Moscow. Putin supporter and former adviser Sergei Markov likened the withdrawal to a defeat on the scale of the collapse of the Soviet Union, warning that “the political consequences of this massive defeat will be really big.” Meanwhile, pro-Kremlin journalist and politician Andrei Medvedev said on Telegram: “What to say now about Kherson? Yes, I am not happy either, like many of you. Yes, I also thought that there would be a different solution. This it would become a fortified area from the city.” “You can turn the city into a big fortification while you have difficulties with logistics. You can even defend it,” he said, reacting to the announcement by top Russian officials on Wednesday that Russian troops would withdraw from a significant part of the southern region. Ukrainian. Russian President Vladimir Putin watches through binoculars the Tsentr-2019 military exercise in the Donguz region near the city of Orenburg on September 20, 2019. Alexey Nikolsky | Afp | Getty Images The withdrawal was announced shortly after news emerged from the region that Kherson’s deputy governor who had been installed by Russia, Kirill Stremousov, had been killed in a car accident. Medvedev said that both events represented a serious propaganda blow for Russia: “The withdrawal from Kherson, especially against the background of the tragic death of Kirill Stemnusov, is a serious informational blow for us. And now the West and Kyiv will start to relax [it] as an unconditional victory for Ukraine,” he said, adding that people wanted an explanation for the withdrawal. Read more about the story here: Putin supporters shocked by yet another Russian ‘surrender’ in Ukraine
Ukraine attacks Russian troops in Kherson, saying Moscow did not ask for a ‘green corridor’
The impending withdrawal of Russian forces from the west bank of the Dnipro River that divides the Kherson region is already ripe for intensified attacks with Ukraine reporting that it is destroying Russian units in the area. Russia reportedly did not ask the Ukrainian side to create a “green corridor”, or safe route, to withdraw its troops from Kherson, according to a Ukrainian defense official cited by the Ukrinform news agency. Sergey Khlan, a member of the Kherson regional council, said on Facebook on Thursday that the Russians were moving their equipment to the left bank of the Dnipro River and Ukrainian forces were destroying it. Military mobility of the Ukrainian Armed Forces continues towards the Kherson front in Ukraine on November 9, 2022. The Ukrainian military continues to support its units in Kherson as the Russia-Ukraine war continues. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Separately, Ukraine’s southern command unit said today that its forces attacked “two strongholds of the Russian occupiers, an enemy equipment column and an ammunition depot” on Thursday as enemy forces build up in the area. “As a result of the attacks, Ukrainian defenders destroyed 125 invaders, three enemy tanks, five units of armored vehicles and an ammunition depot in the Berislav region,” he added. Berislav is on the river from Kherson, on the same west bank of the river – the bank from which the Russian forces are to withdraw. The southern command unit repeated claims that Russia was laying land mines and laying roadblocks, possibly in an attempt to block Ukrainian forces trying to advance and retake the area. Russia’s defense ministry said on Thursday it was preparing to withdraw to the eastern bank of the river. — Holly Elliott
Russians want to leave behind ‘city of death’, says Ukrainian official
A top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that Russian forces, which are about to withdraw from the city of Kherson and the west bank of the Dnipro River, are mining and destroying the city. Russia “wants to turn Kherson into a ‘city of death,’” Mikhail Podoliak said on Twitter Thursday, adding that Russia is putting mines in “everything it can,” including apartments and sewers. He said the artillery bombardment on the west bank of the river “plans to reduce the city to rubble.” The comments come after another Ukrainian official said yesterday that Russian forces were blowing up several bridges. Damaged parts of the city of Velyka Oleksandrivka, Kherson region, on October 24, 2022. Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Podolyak said Russian forces “came, robbed, celebrated, killed ‘martyrs’, left ruins and left.” CNBC was unable to verify the information in Podolyak’s tweet, but a UK defense analysis on Thursday indicated that Russian forces have destroyed several bridges in the Kherson region, across the Dnipro River, and “probably laid mines to to slow down and delay the advance of Ukrainian forces.” — Holly Elliott
Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson will be a challenge, UK says
Russia’s withdrawal from part of the southern Kherson region is likely to pose challenges for both the Russians — as they leave the area around the city of Kherson and cross the Dnipro River to the east bank — and Ukrainian troops as they try to retake the area , the United Kingdom said Thursday. “Russia’s ability to maintain its forces on the west bank of the Dnipro River had been put under pressure by Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s supply routes. In retreating, Russian forces destroyed many bridges and likely laid mines to slow and delay the advance of Ukrainian forces.” Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence update on Twitter. “With limited crossing points, Russian forces will be vulnerable to crossing the Dnipro River. It is likely that the withdrawal will take place over several days with defensive positions and artillery fire covering the retreating forces.” Ukrainian soldiers from the 63rd Brigade in a military exercise simulating a trench attack for the counter-offensive to retake Kherson, November 9, 2022. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images The ministry said the loss of the Kherson’s west bank would likely prevent Russia from achieving its strategic ambition of a land bridge from Russia to Odesa, a Ukrainian port along the country’s southern coast. — Holly Elliott
Putin was further humiliated after Kherson was “surrendered”.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a press conference at the Rus Sanatorium, October 31, 2022, in Sochi, Russia. Factor | Getty Images As Russia’s military commanders announced another major withdrawal from another testy occupied part of Ukraine on Wednesday, the retreat means further humiliation for President Putin. Putin kept a low profile on Wednesday as Russia announced it was withdrawing its troops from the city of Kherson and the entire west bank of the Dnipro River that bisects the Kherson region as it could no longer supply its troops there and said it was concerned about its military personnel. On September 30, Putin welcomed the annexation of Kherson, following a sham referendum in the region, saying residents there “become our citizens forever.” Six weeks later – during which Russia has instigated a forced evacuation of residents in Kherson to Russian territory – and Putin’s words ring hollow. As news of the withdrawal emerged yesterday, one of Putin’s former advisers, Sergei Markov, wrote on his Telegram account that “the surrender of Kherson is Russia’s biggest geopolitical defeat since the collapse of the USSR” and warned that “political consequences of this enormous The defeat will be very great.’ — Holly Elliott
UN officials will meet with Russians on Friday over Ukraine’s grain deal
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