After Russia announced the withdrawal of its forces from Kherson city, southern UkraineA, the pro-Russian media described this withdrawal as the biggest setback since the start of the war that began in the neighboring western lands last February.
A report in the “Wall Street Journal” claims that there is a split within Russia over the withdrawal from Kherson, between the greatest setback or necessity.
The withdrawal from Kherson would strengthen Ukraine and its Western supporters before winter, when the intensity of the fighting is expected to subside.
The sudden withdrawal is also a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who in September declared Kherson and three other regions part of Russia, announced a partial mobilization in September and sent tens of thousands of soldiers directly to the battlefields. to support the faltering Russian defense lines.
Ukrainian forces near Kherson (archive – AFP)
Western officials said Russia was preparing to withdraw from Kherson for weeks to avoid the chaos of its Northeast withdrawal in September as Russian forces abandoned large quantities of armored vehicles, weapon systems and ammunition.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu was reported to have ordered Russian forces to withdraw to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River during a meeting with the Russian commander in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovkin.
In turn, General Surovkin said the troops will leave in the coming days and take up positions on a new defensive line that has been drawn along the eastern bank of the river.
In addition, Kherson residents said in interviews that the Russian army has disappeared from the city in recent days.
Russian forces in Kherson (AP)
strong blow
Interestingly, Moscow’s loss of Kherson, which is the first major Ukrainian city to fall into its hands since the conflict broke out on February 24, will be a major blow to it and to the prestige of its army.
Especially since the city is one of the four regions whose annexation the Kremlin announced at the end of September (2022).
Its geographical position is also of particular importance, as the region lies on the borders of the Dnepropetrovsk and Nikolaev regions and has a land border with Crimea to the south, while it faces the Black Sea to the southwest and southeast from the Sea of Azov.
Interestingly, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict entered its ninth month, amid the continuation of the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched last month in the south and east, to drive the Russians back from the cities they had conquered.
