Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Saturday that the "war goes on" after the recapture of Kherson, the only regional capital Russian forces had seized in the nine months since they invaded Ukraine. Read FRANCE 24’s live blog to see how the day's events unfolded. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).
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07:30pm: Ukrainian police investigate Russian 'crimes' in recaptured Kherson
Some 200 police officers have been deployed to Kherson to set up roadblocks and record the "crimes of the Russian occupiers", national police chief Igor Klymenko announced in a statement. He also urged Kherson residents to watch out for possible landmines laid by the Russian troops, saying one policeman had been wounded while de-mining an administrative building.
07:12pm: Zelensky says Russians destroyed Kherson's critical infrastructure
Russian forces destroyed the critical infrastructure in the city of Kherson before fleeing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday, mentioning communications networks, water supplies, heat and electricity.
In a video address, Zelensky said Ukrainian troops had taken control of more than 60 settlements in the Kherson region and were carrying out stabilisation measures in the city itself.
06:32pm: Putin speaks to Iranian president about deepening ties, says Kremlin
Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, with both leaders placing emphasis on deepening political, trade and economic cooperation, the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday.
It did not say when the phone call took place and made no mention of Iranian arms supplies to Moscow. Russia has stepped up its efforts to build ties with Iran and other non-Western countries since it invaded Ukraine on February 24.
"A number of topical issues on the bilateral agenda were discussed, with the emphasis on further enhancing cooperation in the political, trade and economic fields, including the transport and logistics sector," the Kremlin said.
4:45pm: City of Mykolaiv welcomes Russian retreat, reconstruction work remains to be done
The city of Mykolaiv has been hit by nearly daily bombardments, which have left hundreds dead, for months.
Even though the Russian retreat from Kherson was met with relief, authorities in Mykolaiv continue to remain cautious, as the city is still within range of Russian rocket attacks.
Furthermore, much reconstruction work remains to be done in the city.
FRANCE 24's Luke Shrago reports:
3:56pm: Banksy unveils Ukraine mural in town bombed by Russia
Banksy, the elusive British street artist, painted a mural on a bombed-out building outside Ukraine's capital, in what Ukrainians have hailed as a symbol of their country's invincibility.
On Friday night the world-famous graffiti artist posted on Instagram three images of the artwork -- a gymnast performing a handstand amid the ruins of a demolished building in the town of Borodyanka northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
The caption read "Borodyanka, Ukraine".
12:28pm: UK hails Russian 'strategic failure' in Ukraine
Moscow's "strategic failure" in the city of Kherson will sow doubt among the Russian public about the point of the war in Ukraine, British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Saturday.
Kherson was the first major urban hub to fall after President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops into Ukraine on February 24.
"Russia's announced withdrawal from Kherson marks another strategic failure for them. In February, Russia failed to take any of its major objectives except Kherson," Wallace said in a statement.
"Now with that also being surrendered, ordinary people of Russia must surely ask themselves: 'What was it all for?'
12:22pm: Turkey seeks Ukraine peace talks despite Western actions, Erdogan says
Turkey is committed to seeking a peace dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, Turkish media cited President Tayyip Erdogan as saying on Saturday, as he accused the United States and other Western countries of provoking Moscow.
State broadcaster TRT and other media quoted Erdogan as saying: "The West, and especially the US, is attacking Russia seemingly endlessly," without elaborating on what he meant.
"Of course, Russia is displaying great resistance in the face of all this," Erdogan was quoted as telling reporters on a flight from Uzbekistan.
Western countries have armed Kyiv and provided other assistance and have also imposed stringent sanctions on Moscow since its invasion of Ukraine in February.
"We are working on how to create a peace corridor here, like we had the grain corridor. We think the best way for this is a path from dialogue to peace," Erdogan said, adding Ukraine's view would be important.
12:11pm: Ukraine foreign minister says West on way to 'joint victory'
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Saturday that the West was on its way to "joint victory" over Russia as he hailed military aid for making the recapture of Kherson possible.
The Ukrainian national anthem rang out in Kherson after Moscow pulled its forces out of the city — the first major urban hub to fall after President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion in February.
"There were very few who believed that Ukraine would survive," Kuleba said as he met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of a Southeast Asian summit in Cambodia.
"It's only together that we will be able to prevail and to kick Russia out of Ukraine. We are on the way," Kuleba said.
"This is coming, and our victory will be our joint victory — a victory of all peace-loving nations across the world."
8:08am: Russia's retreat from Kherson was not as fluid as Russia's defence ministry suggested
After Ukraine's triumphant recovery of Kherson – the only regional capital Moscow had captured in the nine months since Russia's invasion, reports suggest the Russian withdrawal was chaotic. "We have seen reports that Russian soldiers have been abandoning not just their uniforms but their weapons as well and that they were told to escape back to Russian territory however possible. We have even seen reports that some soldiers have died while trying to swim accross the Dnipro river." FRANCE 24's Luke Shrago reports from Ukraine.
6:50am: Zelensky proclaims strategic Kherson 'ours', as US hails Ukraine's victory
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared Kherson "ours" after Russia withdrew troops from the city, which the US hailed Saturday as an "extraordinary victory".
"We are winning battles on the ground. But the war continues," foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said after Ukraine's triumphant recovery of Kherson – the only regional capital Moscow had captured in the nine months since Russia's invasion.
In the port city located on the Black Sea, the Ukrainian national anthem rang out in the central Kherson square as a small crowd sang along while huddled around a bonfire, a video published by Ukraine's parliament on social media showed.
6:30am: White House hails Ukraine's 'extraordinary victory' in Kherson
The White House on Saturday hailed what it said appeared to be an "extraordinary victory" for Ukraine in recapturing the city of Kherson from Russian occupiers.
"It does look as though the Ukrainians have just won an extraordinary victory where the one regional capital that Russia had seized in this war is now back under a Ukrainian flag – and that is quite a remarkable thing," National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters as he accompanied President Joe Biden to the ASEAN summit in Cambodia.
Sullivan was speaking after Ukrainian troops entered the city, which was one of the lynchpins in Russia's occupation of swathes of Ukraine.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP and AP )
