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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Pjotr Sauer

Attempts to play down retreats in Ukraine no longer wash inside Russia

Destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles in the recently liberated city of Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine.
Destroyed Russian tanks and armoured vehicles in the recently liberated city of Lyman, Donetsk region, Ukraine. Photograph: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters

After Russia’s chaotic retreats in Kherson – less than a week after Vladimir Putin illegally annexed the Ukrainian province alongside three others – the region’s Moscow-appointed governor, Kirill Stremousov, sought to calm the mood.

Far from a rout, the withdrawal was a tactical “regrouping” to “deliver a retaliatory blow”, Stremousov said on Wednesday.

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