Following a Russian retreat from the vital city on Friday, Ukrainian soldiers started moving into Kherson, marking an important victory for Ukraine.
“Today is a historic day. We are taking back Kherson,” the country’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address.
He claimed that the military’s specialized forces had already arrived in the city and that more soldiers were in route.
Crowds in the street were seen applauding and yelling “ZSU! ZSU!” — the Ukrainian initials for the nation’s armed forces — in videos posted on social media by Zelenskyy and other authorities and residents.
Just six weeks after Russian President Vladimir Putin erroneously announced that the larger Kherson region and three other territories were being merged into the Russian Federation, Ukraine retook the strategically important southern city. This was a big loss for Russia.
Russia has only taken control of one provincial capital, Kherson City, since beginning its extensive invasion in February.
Since his defense commander made the early Friday morning announcement that the final Russian forces had left Kherson city, Putin has been silent.
However, despite the withdrawal, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted that Russia still has a legal hold over the region. Peskov stated on Friday that “no changes can be made here.”
