Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigoiu ordered the withdrawal of Russian forces from the right bank of the Dnieper River in the Ukrainian region of Kherson on Wednesday (November 9th). This includes the regional capital of the same name, the target of a vast Ukrainian counter-offensive. The announcement on television follows a proposal to that effect from the commander of Russian operations in Ukraine, General Sergey Surovikin. He admitted that it was a decision “not at all easy” to take.
>> War in Ukraine: in Kherson, frozen in expectation, both sides prepare for intense fighting
“The maneuvers soldiers will start very quickly”, assured the general. This withdrawal constitutes a new stinging setback for the Kremlin, Kherson having been the main Russian hold, after the conquest of the city in the first days of the offensive against Ukraine. It is the only regional capital that Moscow has been able to claim conquest.
According to General Sourovikine, Russia is going to reorganize its line on the other bank of the Dnieper, a natural barrier which flows south of the city of Kherson. On his side, kyiv said on Wednesday did not see “no sign” at this stage withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson. “A part of [troupes] Russians is kept in the city”declared an adviser to the presidency, Mykhaïlo Podoliak.
This announcement from Russia comes just over a month after Vladimir Putin claimed the annexation of the Ukrainian region. This is all the more strategic as its territory borders Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014.
Before proposing withdrawal, General Sergei Surovikin argued for a desire to protect the lives of Russian soldiers, and accused Ukrainian forces of bombing civilians. The officer also claimed that his troops were successfully repelling the Ukrainian assaults. He claims to have killed or wounded 9,500 Ukrainian soldiers and maintains that the Russian losses were seven or eight times less.
Russia was carrying out“evacuation” civilians from the right bank of the Dnieper for several weeks, transfers qualified as “deportations” by Kyiv. According to Sergei Surovikin, some 115,000 people thus joined the left bank (in the East).