Russian troops are withdrawing from Kherson – the only major Ukrainian city that has been occupied since the start of the war. “This is a great moral boost,” Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Honcharenko told.
While it was too early to say that Ukraine has won the war, the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson means that Russia has lost the war, he said.
While all reports are that Russia has begun withdrawing troops from the Kherson areas on the west bank of the Dnipro River, it is worth comparing what the Ukrainians are saying on the ground.
Ukrainian military commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhny says he cannot confirm or deny the Russian withdrawal, but he has said his forces have made major advances in the past 24 hours. This morning they claimed an important victory, announcing that they had recaptured the key town of Snihurivka 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the city of Kherson.
It’s just outside the Kherson region and is a major rail hub for the neighboring Mykolaiv area – and was included in Russia’s annexations at the end of September.
Importantly, it is located at a major junction on the road to the city of Kherson and lies on the Inhulets River.