Ukraine troops take back first Kherson village after Russia retreat

Kyiv advisors warn Moscow will wreak havoc in region as soldiers withdraw

Thursday 10 November 2022 09:20 EST

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Ukrainian troops have recaptured their first village in Kherson after Moscow was forced to withdraw their soldiers.

A small group of Ukrainian soldiers was shown on state television in the centre of the village of Snihurovka around 55 km (35 miles) north of Kherson city, greeting dozens of residents in a square with a Ukrainian flag fluttering from a pole behind them.

“Today, on Nov. 10, 2022, Snihurivka was liberated by the forces of the 131st Separate Intelligence Battalion. Glory to Ukraine!” a commander declared as the locals applauded, cheered and filmed the soldiers on their phones.

Petro Lupan, 46, distributing bread to residents along another part of the front line north of Kherson said he had just learned of the recapture of Snihurivka from a friend he had reached by phone in the village.

“I can’t find words to describe my feelings,” he said.

It comes just one day after Russia announded it was retreating from the region, including parts of the city which had been the only regional capital Moscow had captured so far.

Ukrainian troops recapture first village in Kherson after Russia retreats (AP)

Despite the jubilant celebrations of troops today, Ukraine has publicly remained wary of the retreat as Volodymyr Zelensky said, “The enemy will make no gifts to us”.

An advisor to the president added that Russians may plan to sow destruction to the region as they leave, turning it into a “city of death”.

“This is what (the) ‘Russian world’ looks like: came, robbed, celebrated, killed ‘witnesses’, left ruins and left,” Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter.

On Moscow’s side, Russian state media and pro-Kremlin war hawks defended it as a necessary move while acknowledging a heavy blow.

“I know for sure that this decision was not easy for anyone. Not for those who took it, nor for those of us who understood it would be so but still prayed it wouldn’t happen,” said Margarita Simonyan, head of RT, Russia‘s international propaganda channel.

Ukraine concerned Russia could wreak havoc in Kherson as troops leave (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

Moscow has said it open to peace talks after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he would consider talks to end the war, but only on the condition that Russia return all of Ukraine’s occupied lands, provide compensation for war damage and face prosecution for war crimes.

General Mark Milley, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, said initial indicators suggested Russia was following through with its withdrawal, though it could take time to complete. US president Joe Biden said the withdrawal showed there were “some real problems with the Russian military.”

Volodymyr Zelensky remains cautious about Moscow’s withdrawal from Kherson (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office)

The humiliating defeat for Russia coincides with an announcement from a top US army general stating that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in the Ukraine war.