Kyiv expressed caution about Russia’s announcement its troops are abandoning the Ukrainian city of Kherson, the first major regional center seized in its invasion, in what would be a highly symbolic reverse for President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine’s General Staff said Thursday it couldn’t confirm or deny a pullback after Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered troops to withdraw from the western bank of the Dnipro River and move to the other shore.
Ukrainian troops have advanced 7 kilometers (4 miles) in two directions in Kherson region over the past 24 hours, liberating 12 towns and more than 260 square kilometers of territory, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces said on Telegram. “The likely pullout from Kherson is the result of our active operations,” he wrote.
