A senior adviser to Ukraine’s president said on Wednesday it was too early to talk about a withdrawal of Russian troops from the southern city of Kherson.
“Until the Ukrainian flag flies over Kherson, it makes no sense to talk about a Russian withdrawal,” Mykhailo Podolyak said in a statement.
Otherwise, his statement comes after it was reported that the Russian army has been ordered to withdraw from the Ukrainian city of Kherson, the only regional capital it has occupied since the invasion began in February.
It was the Russian commander in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, who said that it was no longer possible to continue supplying the city.
As the media reports, the withdrawal means that Russian forces will be completely withdrawn from the western bank of the Dnipro River.
This is seen as a significant blow as Russia faces a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
“Under these circumstances, the most reasonable option is to organize defense along a barrier line along the Dnipro River,” General Surovikin was quoted as saying at a meeting of senior military leaders.