Russian forces destroyed critical infrastructure in the southern city of Kherson before fleeing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Kiev’s military regained control of the southeastern city. “Before leaving Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity,” Zelensky said in a video clip on Saturday. “[Russians] everywhere they have the same goal: to humiliate people as much as possible. But we will restore everything, believe me,” he said. Jubilant residents welcomed troops who arrived in the city center on Friday after Russia abandoned the only regional capital it had seized since the war began in February. Ukrainian troops have regained control of more than 60 settlements in the Kherson region, Zelensky said, adding that nearly 2,000 mines, wire ropes and unexploded shells have been dealt with so far. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Ukraine is “winning the battles on the ground. But the war continues.” Ukraine’s triumphant recapture of Kherson was hailed by the United States as an “extraordinary victory.” “This is a great moment, and it is due to the incredible tenacity and skill of the Ukrainians, backed by the relentless and united support of the United States and our allies,” said US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan while traveling to Cambodia with President Joe Biden for regional summit.
The “most decisive” event in the war
Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, writing from the Kherson region, said Moscow’s withdrawal was the “most decisive” event in this war so far. “It boosted the morale of Ukrainian soldiers who say … now they believe they can win this war.” Kuleba, who attended the same summit, warned that Kyiv still sees “Russia mobilizing more conscripts and bringing more weapons into Ukraine.” The head of Ukraine’s National Police, Ihor Klymenko, said about 200 officers were working in the city, setting up checkpoints and documenting evidence of possible war crimes. About 70 percent of the Kherson region remains under Moscow’s control, with Russian troops fortifying their battle lines on the east bank of the Dnieper River, according to the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces. Russia established the Ukrainian city of Henichesk as the temporary administrative capital of the Kherson region after withdrawing from the city of Kherson. Although it appears to be a major Russian setback, the Kremlin insisted that Kherson was still part of Russia and did not regret annexing the entire Kherson region. Russia announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions, including Kherson, in September – a step that Kyiv called illegal. Ukraine’s full recapture of the Kherson region would cut off a vital land bridge for Russia between its mainland and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
