Russian troops have "destroyed multiple bridges and likely laid mines" to delay advancing Ukrainian forces upon their retreat from occupied Kherson, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) said today.
In a televised announcement, the Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, ordered his troops to withdraw from the west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson.
War commander General Sergei Surovikin called it a “very difficult decision”, but the MoD said Russia claimed the withdrawal was due to "re-supply issues".
It added: "Russia's ability to sustain its forces on the west bank of the Dnipro river had been placed under pressure by Ukrainian strikes on Russia's resupply routes.
"In retreating, Russian forces have destroyed multiple bridges and likely laid mines to slow and delay advancing Ukrainian forces.
"It is likely that the withdrawal will take place over several days with defensive positions and artillery fires covering withdrawing forces."
A senior Ukrainian official has also warned that Russia is booby-trapping the city of Kherson, accusing them of trying to turn it into a “city of death”.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Zelensky, tweeted that the Russian military “mines everything they can: apartments, sewers” and that “artillery on the left bank” of the Dnipro river “plans to turn the city into ruins.”
He suggested that the Russian forces “came, robbed, celebrated, killed ‘witnesses’, left ruins and left” Kherson city.
He earlier warned that Russia's public declaration of a retreat could be a ruse designed to up Kyiv's forces for a street battle.
Podolyak said: "Actions speak louder than words. We see no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight. A part of the ru-group is preserved in the city, and additional reserves are charged to the region. Ukraine is liberating territories based on intelligence data, not staged TV statements."
There have also been reports of Russian troops dressing as civilians and taking up positions in people's homes.
Officials in Kyiv said earlier that the battle to retake Kherson would be one of the heaviest of the conflict.
Despite this, Professor David Lewis, from the University of Exeter said the withdrawal was a "major humiliation" for Russia's military and a "significant boost" for Ukraine's counteroffensive.
He continued: "It is particularly humiliating because Putin claimed that it had formally annexed this territory only six weeks ago. But it was always likely to be difficult to defend Kherson once Ukraine was able to attack its supply lines across the Dnipro river."
Putin has not commented on the apparent surrender of the city.
Sergei Markov, a former Kremlin adviser, said the retreat was Russia’s “biggest geopolitical defeat” since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He said it would trigger huge political consequences within Russia.
Ukraine said the withdrawal of Russian forces from Kherson is premature, some Russian forces remain in the town and additional Russian manpower was being pulled into the region.
The announcement came shortly after Russian media said the deputy leader of Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, was killed in a car crash.
