Moscow publicists most loyal to the Kremlin do not interpret the withdrawal from Kherson as a defeat. Quite the contrary. Without abandoning the criticism of the decisions taken before the appointment of Sergei Surovikin as commander of the troops in the Ukraine, they have come to compare him with Mikhail Kutuzov, who in order to save the imperial army in 1812 avoided direct confrontation with Napoleon's Grande Armée and left Moscow. General Winter did the rest.
On Wednesday afternoon, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu accepted Surovikin's proposal and ordered the strategic city of Kherson to be left, the only Ukrainian provincial capital that Russian troops had managed to take since they entered Ukraine eight months ago.
Shortly after, Margarita Simonián, director of RT and one of the most active voices in favor of the Russian military campaign in Ukraine, took to Twitter a quote from Field Marshal Kutuzov, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Russian Army in the campaign against Napoleon Bonaparte. : "As long as the army is complete, there is hope to end the war with honor. With the loss of the army, not only Moscow will be lost, but all of Russia."
Two centuries later, the phrase applies to Jershon. "Change the word 'Moscow' to 'Jershon'. Then, everything will be clearer," Simonian pointed out on that social network, which has been blocked in Russia since March.
These tweets have not gone unnoticed, and have received a lot of critical responses. Some users recalled that on that occasion it was not the Russians who were attacking. "Kutúzov did not attack anyone. Maybe we should not have done it?", reacted an Internet user.
The step back was also supported by voices that last month vehemently criticized the decisions of the military high command after the setbacks in eastern Ukraine.
The head of the Russian republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, highly critical of the loss of the city of Liman (in the Donetsk region), wrote on his Telegram channel that Surovikin had acted "wisely".
According to the Chechen president, "after weighing all the pros and cons, General Surovikin made a difficult but correct choice between a meaningless sacrifice to launch high-sounding statements and save the priceless lives of soldiers," Kadyrov said. "The general acted wisely and farsightedly: he evacuated the civilian population and ordered the regrouping" of the troops.
In September, Kadyrov and other nationalist bloggers and activists mercilessly criticized the military command for another "regroupment", that of Kharkiv province, from where the Russian army had to withdraw in the face of the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
As on that occasion, the Russian media avoid using the word "withdrawal" and speak of "regrouping" or "maneuver".
Those critics were joined, among others, by Yevgeni Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group. On this occasion, he has assured that the task is "extremely difficult" and that the withdrawal of the troops with the minimum possible losses would be "a great achievement that Surovikin must complete". The businessman, dubbed "the Kremlin cook" by his Concord catering company, praised Surovikin, saying he "is not afraid of responsibility" and "is accepting the full weight of his decision."
Despite this time siding with the high command, neither of them abandon their previous positions. They continue to maintain that mistakes were made in decision making.
"Kherson is a very complex area, without the possibility of a stable regular supply of ammunition and of forming a powerful and reliable rear. Why was this not done from the first days of the special operation?" Kadyrov asked. Prigozhin added that the military should "understand who is doing it right, who is doing it wrong and what is the problem (...) draw conclusions and correct mistakes."
Similar criticisms are held by popular sympathetic blocs to the official Russian position on Ukraine.
"In the eyes of the population it is a defeat. Yes, a local (defeat). It is about the loss of territories that the Russian Federation had recognized as its own," Rybar, who criticized Russia's military command for be misled by false reports.
On September 30 Moscow declared the annexation of four Ukrainian provinces: Jershon and Zaporiyia, in the south; and Luhansk and Donetsk, in the east. However, with the exception of Luhansk, it did not have control over the whole territory. The annexation was rejected by the Government of Ukraine and widely criticized by the international community.
Shoigu ordered Surovikin to relocate Russian troops to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River and organize defensive lines there to stop the Ukrainian counteroffensive. In the meeting between the two, broadcast on Russian state television, Surovikin explained that keeping army forces in Kherson and other towns on the West Bank was no longer "viable."
Simonian maintained that the withdrawal was necessary so as not to expose the Russian troops and to avoid "opening the road to Crimea" for the Ukrainian Army.
The latest setback of the Kremlin in Ukraine was also defended by television presenter Vladimir Soloviov, considered the main Russian propagandist. Like many others before him, on his Wednesday night show he stressed that it was a "difficult but brave decision."
Sergey Mironov, leader of the Just Russia party (official opposition, close to the Kremlin), said in a message on Twitter that "Kherson is Russia." "The life of our boys is the most important thing," he added, vowing to take back the city.
