US President Joe Biden announced on Monday that the recovery of Kherson is a major victory for Ukraine, but the intensity of fighting will decrease in winter and the outcome of the war is still unclear. “I can’t do anything but applaud the courage, determination and skill of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian military,” admitted Biden, who arrived in Indonesia for the G20 summit at a press conference in Bali.
“I can’t do anything but applaud the courage, determination and skill of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian military,” admitted Biden, who arrived in Indonesia for the G20 summit at a press conference in Bali.
“I think things will slow down a bit because of the winter months. I think it remains to be seen what the outcome will be,” he added.
However, Biden has expressed confidence that Russia will fail to implement his plans, as it did when it launched a new invasion of Ukraine in February.
Facing an intense counteroffensive by Ukraine, Russia last week announced its withdrawal from Kherson to the east bank of the Dnieper River.
Kherson, which had been under occupation for eight months and was the largest city Russia has managed to capture since the start of the renewed offensive, was entered by the Ukrainian army on November 11
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi arrived in liberated Kherson on Monday and took part in the Ukrainian flag-raising ceremony at the main administrative building.
Asked whether the US would encourage Kyiv to start talks with Russia now that Ukraine was in a better position, Biden said diplomatic moves depended on Ukraine and that the US would continue to supply weapons.
“I made it clear that we will continue to provide the Ukrainian people with opportunities to defend themselves,” Biden stressed.
“We will not engage in any negotiations. (..) This decision must be made by Ukraine,” said the White House host, reiterating that nothing will be decided on Ukraine without Ukraine’s participation.
