Summary
It is now approaching 9pm in Kyiv, on an evening where Ukrainian forces are on the outskirts of Kherson city, having taken a number of small villages on Thursday.
Meanwhile Russian troops are withdrawing towards the eastern side of the Dnipro River.
Ukrainian forces were closing on the outskirts of southern city Kherson, as Russia said on Thursday it had begun its retreat announced the previous day. Hours after claiming the liberation of the key town of Snihurivka, images emerged of relaxed-looking soldiers from Ukraine’s 28th Mechanized Brigade with a Ukrainian flag in Kyslivka, a village just outside Klapaya and about nine miles (15km) from Kherson’s city centre.
There are reports that Mykolaiv oblast is now free of Russian forces, which are yet to be officially confirmed.
On Wednesday the Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu had ordered troops to leave Kherson, the only regional capital Moscow had captured since the invasion began. The announcement marks one of Russia’s most significant retreats and a potential turning point in the war. General Sergei Surovikin, in overall command of the war, called it a “very difficult decision”.
While Russia did not formally declare it was abandoning Kherson, all signs point to a Moscow retreat. “Kherson cannot be fully supplied and function,” Surovikin said. “The decision to defend on the left bank of the Dnipro is not easy, at the same time we will save the lives of our military.” Russia had been preparing its exit for the last month, moving command and control across the river.
The US has detected some signs that Russian forces may be planning to withdraw from the Ukraine city of Kherson, the White House said on Thursday.
Ukraine’s army chief, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said Kyiv could not yet confirm whether Russia was indeed pulling out of the city, but that Ukrainian troops had advanced seven kilometres (four miles) in the past 24 hours and recaptured 12 settlements.
Ukraine reacted with caution, saying some Russian forces were still in Kherson and additional Russian manpower was being sent. “Until the Ukrainian flag is flying over Kherson, it makes no sense to talk about a Russian withdrawal,” said Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
Ukraine’s deputy military intelligence chief Vadym Skibitsky has told the Guardian about his fears that Russia will try another Mariupol-style bombardment of Kherson city if they withdraw.
America’s top general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, estimates that Russia’s military had seen more than 100,000 of its soldiers killed and wounded in Ukraine, adding Kyiv’s armed forces has “probably” suffered a similar level of casualties. Mark Milley’s remarks offer the highest US estimate of casualties to date.
Russian president Vladimir Putin may only take part in the upcoming summit of the G20 group of nations in Bali via video link, according to Russian state news agency RIA. Zelenskiy is also due to appear via video.
Senior UN officials were planning to meet members of a high-level Russian delegation in Geneva on Friday to discuss extending the Ukraine grain deal, a UN spokesperson said.
Several European defence ministers said Ukraine should feel under no pressure to enter any peace negotiations with Russia as the war heads towards the nine-month mark at a meeting of the 10 country Joint Expeditionary Forum in Edinburgh on Thursday.
Thanks for following along. We’ll be back on Friday with more updates.
