After weeks sending contradictory messages and before the counteroffensive of the Kyiv forces, Russia ordered this Wednesday to withdraw its troops from the annexed city of Kherson, the only capital of the Ukrainian province that they have managed to take (on March 1) after more than eight months of military campaign.
To strengthen the Russian defenses, the Ministry of Defense decided to withdraw troops to the left (east) bank of the Dnieper River. That means leaving Kherson, which is located on the right (west) bank.
The move was announced during a meeting between Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the head of Russian troops deployed in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin.
"We propose to move the defense to the left bank of the Dnieper River," Surovikin told his superior at a meeting broadcast on state television. Shoigu agreed and approved the withdrawal of the troops: "Proceed to the withdrawal of the troops and take all necessary measures to ensure the safe transfer of the troops, weapons and equipment to the other side of the Dnieper River", ordered.
The commander of the Russian forces in the special operations zone of Ukraine, according to Russian military jargon, assured that his forces successfully resist attacks in the direction of Kherson. He also assured that the Ukrainian army lost more than 9,500 soldiers, although he did not give any number of casualties in his own ranks.
However, he admitted in his report that the defense of Kherson and other towns on the right bank of the Dnieper is "unfeasible." In addition, it would not be possible to supply a Russian contingent that was in that area.
Surovikin assured that up to 20% of Ukrainian missiles hit infrastructure in the region, and accused the Ukrainian army of hitting civilian targets, including schools and hospitals. In the event of increased attacks on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, located on the dam of the same name, there would be a danger of civilian casualties and the Russian group being encircled, he added.
To prevent this, he proposed to form a defensive line along the left bank of the Dnieper River and use the freed-up military units to attack in other directions.
Russia, which has been moving civilians from Kherson and other towns on the right bank of the river since mid-October, ended the evacuation this week. Surovikin estimated the number of evacuees at 115,000.
Many observers did not believe a withdrawal of the Russians without a fight in Kherson was possible, due to its symbolic importance, since in September they had to withdraw in the province of Kharkiv (northeast); but also geographical, being next to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.
Moscow annexed last Sept. 30 the province of Jershon, in addition to those of Zaporiyia, Luhansk and Donetsk, in an operation rejected by Kyiv and widely criticized by the international community.
