Ukraine said Friday that its troops were retaking the southern city of Kherson. The move came shortly after Russia said it had withdrawn from the west bank of the Dnieper River in the Kherson region.
Ukrainian-reclaimed territory through counteroffensives
Russian-held areas
Voronezh
BELARUS
RUSSIA
Four illegally
annexed
regions where
Putin declared
martial law
Chernihiv
Belgorod
Sumy
Valuyki
Kyiv
Kharkiv
Svatove
LUHANSK
Cherkasy
Slovyansk
Luhansk
Dnipro
Donetsk
Area from which
Russian troops
have withdrawn
DONETSK
Zaporizhzhia
Area held
by Russian-
backed
separatists
since 2014
Kherson
ZAPORIZHZHIA
Mariupol
Melitopol
Mykolaiv
MOL.
KHERSON
Odessa
RUSSIA
Kerch
CRIMEA
Krasnodar
Annexed by Russia
in 2014
100 MILES
ROM.
Novorossiysk
Sevastopol
Black Sea
Control areas as of Nov. 8
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project
Ukrainian-reclaimed territory
through counteroffensives
Russian-held
areas
BELARUS
Voronezh
Four illegally
annexed
regions where
Putin declared
martial law
RUSSIA
Chernihiv
Belgorod
Sumy
Kyiv
Kharkiv
Poltava
Cherkasy
LUHANSK
Kramatorsk
Dnipro
Area from which
Russian troops
have withdrawn
DONETSK
Zaporizhzhia
ZAPORIZ.
Mykolaiv
Melitopol
KHERSON
Area held by
Russian-backed
separatists
since 2014
Kherson
Crimea
Odessa
Annexed by Russia
in 2014
Sevastopol
100 MILES
Control areas as of Nov. 9
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project
Ukraine-reclaimed territory
through counteroffensives
Russian-held
areas
Four illegally
annexed
regions where
Putin declared
martial law
BEL.
Chernihiv
Belgorod
Sumy
Kyiv
Kharkiv
LUHANSK
UKRAINE
Dnipro
Area from which
Russian troops
have withdrawn
DONETSK
Zaporizhzhia
ZAPORIZ.
Area held by
Russian-backed
separatists
since 2014
Mykolaiv
KHERSON
Kherson
Crimea
Odessa
Annexed by Russia
in 2014
100 MILES
Sevastopol
Black Sea
Control areas as of Nov. 9
Sources: Institute for the Study of War
A Ukrainian recapture of the city would be a major military setback for Moscow, but it is unclear how it will affect Russia’s broader war aims.
What is happening in Kherson?
On Friday, the intelligence directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said in a statement that “Kherson is returning under the control of Ukraine” and that “units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are entering the city.” Footage has shown Ukrainian soldiers greeted by enthusiastic civilians in the city.
The announcement came only hours after Russia’s Defense Ministry said Russian forces had redeployed to the left or east bank of the Dnieper River by the city. “Not a single piece of military equipment and weaponry was left … and there were no losses of personnel, weapons, equipment,” a statement said.
The move wasn’t entirely unexpected.
In a televised appearance Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu — dressed in fatigues and seated beside Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the head of Russia’s armed forces in Ukraine — ordered Russian troops to withdraw to the east bank.. The move would “save the lives of our military and combat capability,” Surovikin said.
The announcement followed weeks of costly Ukrainian advances in the south. It also came on the heels of Russia’s swift and bruising loss of territory in the northeastern Kharkiv region in September.
But the speed of the withdrawal from the city surprised some Western officials. On Tuesday, U.S. Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had predicted that a Russian pullout from the city would take “days and maybe even weeks.”
Why is Kherson city important for Russia?
Kherson sits on the west bank of the Dnieper River. The region is north of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. In February, Russian troops poured in from Crimea and captured the city just days after the invasion began.
Vasylivka
Davydiv
Brid
Nuclear power plant
at Enerhodar
Dudchany
ZAPORIZHZHIA
Snihurivka
KHERSON
Melitopol
Hydroelectric dam
Nova
Kakhovka
Kherson
Russian-controlled
area
Northern
Crimean
Canal
Armiansk
Sea of
Azov
Black
Sea
Dzhankoi
CRIMEA
Annexed by Russia in 2014
Kyiv
Simferopol
Russian-controlled
area
25 MILES
Sevastopol
Detail
Sources: Nov. 8 control data via Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project, Post reporting
THE WASHINGTON POST
Russian defense minister orders
troops to withdraw from this area
Russian-held
areas
Vasylivka
25 MILES
Dudchany
Melitopol
KHERSON
Hydroelectric dam
Nova
Kakhovka
Kherson
Northern
Crimean
Canal
Armiansk
Dzhankoi
CRIMEA
Black
Sea
Annexed by Russia
in 2014
Simferopol
Kyiv
Russian-controlled
area
Sevastopol
Detail
Control areas as of Nov.8
Sources: Institute for the Study of War, AEI’s Critical Threats Project
Russian defense minister orders
troops to withdraw from this area
Russian-
held areas
Vasylivka
25 MILES
Dudchany
Melitopol
KHERSON
Hydroelectric dam
Nova Kakhovka
Kherson
N. Crimean
Canal
Armiansk
Dzhankoi
Black
Sea
CRIMEA
Annexed by Russia
in 2014
Simferopol
Kyiv
Sevastopol
Russian-controlled
area
Source: Nov. 8
control data via Institute
for the Study of War
Detail
The Kherson region has since served as a key bridge between the peninsula and mainland Ukraine. This connection has allowed for the movement of troops and military equipment. Kherson has a Soviet-era canal that provides Crimea with water; in the spring, Russia turned it back on after Kyiv blocked it in 2014 when Russian-backed separatists seized territory in eastern Ukraine.
What could happen next?
It remains unclear what parts of the Kherson region remain in Russian control and whether Moscow plans to move back its troops further. However, Western officials have been cautiously optimistic about the retreat in recent days.
“It is encouraging to see how the brave Ukrainian forces are able to liberate more Ukrainian territory … But of course, the support they receive from the United Kingdom, from NATO allies and partners is also essential,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters Wednesday after a meeting in London with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
It does not, however, mean the war is over.
“This war is likely to continue for the foreseeable future,” said Seth Jones, head of the international security program at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies. “I don’t see any daylight between what the Russians’ long-term objectives are in Ukraine, and Ukraine’s desire to keep all of the territories they’ve lost [since] 2014.
“The Russians take a very long-term approach to this,” he said.
Karen DeYoung, Robyn Dixon, Mary Ilyushina, Dan Lamothe, Liz Sly and Samuel Oakford contributed to this report.