Russia has begun withdrawing its forces from the city of Kherson to the southern bank of the Dnieper River, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed on Nov. 10.
Defense minister Sergei Shoigu announced the withdrawal decision one day earlier, based on an assessment by Russia’s Gen. Sergey Surovikin.
Surovikin was appointed by Moscow last month to take overall command of Russia’s ongoing “special military operation” in Ukraine, which was first launched on Feb. 24.
According to Shoigu, Russian forces will fall back across the river while taking “all measures to ensure the safe relocation of personnel, armaments, and hardware.”
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu attend the opening of the Army 2022 International Military and Technical Forum in the Patriot Park outside Moscow, on Aug. 15, 2022. (Sputnik/Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
On the evening of Nov. 9, Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, confirmed that Russian forces appeared to be leaving the area, “but not as much as would be taking place if it was a full pullout or regrouping.”…