On the face of it, Russia’s sheepish yet televised announcement that it will abandon Kherson city and points west of the Dnipro represents a remarkable victory for Ukraine and a sophisticated military strategy. If the withdrawal does indeed lead to the swift recapture of the city, the Ukrainians will have done so with relatively little loss of life and without what could have been costly urban warfare.
From the moment the Russian advance was stopped south of Mykolaiv in the spring, the invaders’ position on the west bank was obviously strategically vulnerable. But it has taken a careful three-month campaign to force the Kremlin to conclude it cannot hang on. This began with the targeting of Russian logistics on both sides of the river with Himars and other longer-range rocket artillery, then turned to targeting strategic bridges, and then the pontoons that the Russians had built to resupply their forces in the cross-river pocket.
