How Kherson fell in a few days – and is now (maybe) free again G20 summit takes place without Putin – the night update without photos

The city of Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city to be captured during the Russian war of aggression in southern Ukraine. Now, more than 8 months later, the Russian army has announced its withdrawal from the city. Debris, rubble and misery remain.

A brief overview of the events in the city and Kherson oblast:

The city of Kherson

On February 24, Russian troops invaded Kherson Oblast from the south through Crimea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at the time:

In the evening, the Russian troops reached the city of Kherson and secured a strategically important crossing of the Dnipro River. In heavy fighting, the bridge was first recaptured by the Ukrainians before falling straight back into Russian hands. Images of dead soldiers and destroyed military vehicles surfaced on social media. The Ukrainian army announced:

In the days that followed, Kherson became heavily controversial. First, Ukrainian local authorities said that Russian troops had withdrawn from Kherson. Almost simultaneously, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Kherson was surrounded and partially captured.

Early in the morning of March 1, Ukrainian officials announced that Russian troops were advancing again. Russian troops surrounded the city under heavy fire.

During the day, Russian troops stormed the city. The mayor of Kherson Ihor Kolychaiev ordered the civilian population to remain in their houses and bunkers. He further announced that many civilian facilities, including schools and high-rise buildings, had come under direct fire. Kolychaiev further claimed that on March 1, Russian soldiers shot at civilians armed with Molotov cocktails.

Already on March 2, Kolychaiev gave up the city: A group of about ten Russian soldiers - including a commander - broke into the city council building and began negotiations with Kolychaiev. In the evening, the Ukrainian politician announced that he had surrendered the city and that the Ukrainian army was no longer present in Kherson:

He also confirmed that about 300 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians were killed in the fighting and some were buried in mass graves.

However, the residents of Kherson were not deterred by this news. About 2000 people are said to have moved through the city center by the next day.

On May 6, 2022, Andrei Turchak, secretary of the General Council of Putin's United Russia party, visited the city of Kherson. He let it be known:

But he was proved wrong: On November 3, 2022, months after the end of the battle, Russian troops removed their flag from the city's administration building and advised the remaining people to leave the city and cross the river to the south bank. On November 9, Army General Sergei Surovikin announced that Russian troops would leave the city and move to the southern or left bank. More about that below.

Kherson Oblast

After taking over the city, Kherson Oblast was gradually occupied by Russian troops.

Several small settlements, as well as towns, some with as many as 45,000 inhabitants, were taken by the Russians in February and March. Between June and October, Ukrainian forces managed to recapture some settlements. Nevertheless, much of Kherson oblast remained under Russian occupation.

At the end of September, among other things, a referendum was held, which was not recognized by the international community, for the accession of Kherson Oblast to Russia. So on September 30, Russia annexed the oblast — including parts it didn't control at the time.

Both before and after the referendum annexation, Ukrainian Armed Forces conducted targeted and well-organized campaigns in Kherson Oblast to attack Russian positions, military installations, supply centers, ammunition depots and logistics centers. In addition, they repeatedly carried out attacks on bridges over the Dnipro. All of this has impacted the Russian armed forces' ability to resupply troops on the western bank, strategy experts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) write.

This campaign by the Ukrainian armed forces has now paid off: Russian armed forces are once again withdrawing from parts of the Kherson Oblast. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at a televised rally on 9 November ordered Russian troops to withdraw across the Dnipro River to the eastern (left) bank. Personnel, weapons and equipment must be transported safely across the Dnipro. The entire Russian contingent will probably need some time to withdraw across the Dnipro River, the ISW writes. It goes on to say:

Meanwhile, the Kiev leadership reacts skeptically to the announcement from Moscow. "Ukraine sees no sign of Russia giving up Kherson without a fight," presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter. Podoljak told t-Online: "We don't see any Russian troop movements that would corroborate the statements made by the Russian military leadership."

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(yum)