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Locals celebrate as Ukrainian army enters Kherson after Russian forces ‘retreat’

- A Shameful blow to dictator Putin

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November 12-

Ukrainian soldiers entered the key southern city of Kherson on Friday after Russian forces earlier said they had completed their retreat across the Dnipro River.

Ukrainians gather in Kyiv’s Maidan square to celebrate liberation of Kherson

Dozens of Ukrainians, some refugees from Kherson, gathered for celebrations on the capital’s main square that continued into the night.

People popped bottles of champagne, sang the national anthem and shouted: “Glory to Ukraine”. Some expressed surprise at the speed of events.

“I thought the Russian army would defend and there’d be a kind of siege like in Mariupol,” the eastern port devastated in weeks of battle, said Andrey Trach, a resident of Odesa who works in Kyiv.

“It’s a very significant day for Ukraine because it shows the entire world that Ukraine can and definitely will defend every square kilometer and inch of territory.”

Moscow forces left behind ‘lots of mines and explosives’ in Kherson, Zelenskyy says

Russian troops left a significant number of “mines and explosives” during their withdrawal from Kherson, on “vital objects, in particular,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a statement on his website on Friday.

Ukraine’s leader also said that journalists’ access to the key southern city liberated by Kyiv forces on Friday could not be ensured until “at least basic communications” are defined.

“We will restore all conditions of normal life – as much as possible,” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday hailed “the return of Kherson to Ukraine, an important step towards the full restoration of its sovereign rights,” after the liberation of the key southern Ukrainian city by Kyiv troops.

“France will continue to support Ukrainian men and women,” the French president added on Twitter in Ukrainian.

Where does Kherson withdrawal leave Russia’s wider war?

The Kremlin has denied its withdrawal from the southern Ukrainian city is a failure — instead calling it a “redeployment”.

But the Institute for the Study of War says Ukraine now holds the initiative and is “in the process of securing a major victory in the region and in Kherson city”.

Courtesy: Euronews: https://www.euronews.com/2022/11/11/ukraines-army-enters-kherson-after-russian-forces-retreat

: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-kherson-liberation-withdrawal-b2223131.html

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