Russia on Wednesday said it would pull troops out of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, which it captured in the early days of the war — a new humiliation for Vladimir Putin.
Russia’s commander in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, said on Russian state TV that it was no longer possible to keep supplying the city, situated on the banks of the Dnipro River.
The retreat is a fresh blow to Moscow, as Kherson was the only regional capital Russian troops captured since the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion began in February. It was one of four Ukrainian regions illegally annexed by the Russian president in late September. At the time, Putin said that the Ukrainians living in those regions “are becoming our citizens forever.”
In a sign of the political disarray in Moscow, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Wednesday that Russia was willing to hold talks with Kyiv.
“We are still open to negotiations. We have never refused to have them. We are ready to negotiate, of course, taking into account the realities that are emerging at the moment,” she said, according to the TASS news agency.
That’s a huge comedown from demands made by the Kremlin early in the war, which would only countenance Ukraine’s total surrender.
But with Ukraine’s military scoring successes across the country, Kyiv is setting tough conditions for talks.
Russia’s “resources are close to the limit. Hence hysterical requests for a break,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office.
Zelenskyy said this week that Kyiv was open to negotiations, but that Russia would have to agree to: “Restoration of territorial integrity, respect for the U.N. Charter, compensation for all damages caused by the war, punishment of every war criminal and guarantees that this will not happen again.”
For now, Russia is continuing to fight.
Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defense minister, ordered the troop withdrawal across the Dnipro on Wednesday.
“Start with the withdrawal of troops and take all measures to ensure the safe transfer of personnel, weapons and equipment across the Dnipro River,” Shoigu ordered Surovikin, according to TASS.
The move is the latest in a series of stunning defeats for the Russian military.
It was forced to retreat from Kyiv and northern Ukraine six months ago after meeting fierce resistance in the initial invasion launched on February 24. Ukrainian forces then swept through Russian defenders around the country’s second city of Kharkiv in September.
Russian troops on the western bank of the Dnipro in Kherson came under growing pressure after the Ukrainian military, equipped with Western rockets and artillery, cut most of the bridges across the wide river, forcing the Russians to supply their forces by ferry boats.
“We will save, most importantly, the lives of our servicemen and the combat effectiveness of the group of troops in general. It is futile to keep it on the right bank in a limited area,” said Surovikin, who headed Russia’s bloody intervention in the Syrian civil war.
Last week, Ukrainian Lieutenant General Mykhailo Zabrodskyi told the Ukrainian parliament that any Russian withdrawal from the bridgehead near the city of Kherson is, “in principle, logical and even rational for them.”
In recent days, Russia has been calling for the evacuation of civilians from Kherson, and social media shows that its flag is coming down from buildings across the city.
On Wednesday, the Russian-installed authorities said that the pro-Moscow deputy head of the Kherson region Kirill Stremousov had been killed in a road accident.
Analysts say that Russia has been building defensive works on the eastern side of the Dnipro, aimed at halting the next stage of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
However, Ukrainian authorities are cautious that the news of the retreat may be a trap.
“We see no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight,” Podolyak said.
Speaking on a visit to London, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told reporters: “We’ve seen the announcement but will of course will wait and see what actually happens on the ground. It is encouraging to see how the brave Ukrainian forces are able to liberate more Ukrainian territory.”
Cristina Gallardo contributed to this article
This article has been updated.
Tristan Fiedler
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