Ukrainian armed forces were in the final stage of reclaiming the west bank of the Dnipro River in the southern Kherson region from Russian troops on Friday, a regional lawmaker said Friday.
Serhiy Khlan, a deputy for Kherson Regional Council, said a Ukrainian flag had been raised in the city of Kherson following Russia's announcement that it was withdrawing its troops after months of occupation.
But he said some Russian soldiers had been unable to leave the city and had changed into civilian clothing.
"The number of these people is not known," he told a news briefing, without citing evidence for the assertion. He urged local residents to stay at home while Ukrainian troops cleared the city.
Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's southern command, said Russian troops "have been changing into civilian clothes for two weeks."
"This should focus our forces as it means saboteur operations cannot be ruled out," she told a separate briefing. "Because of this, we are not rushing to announce our successes in other directions and in other towns."
Khlan also said, without citing evidence, that many Russian troops had drowned attempting to flee across the river.
Russia did not immediately comment on Khlan's or Humeniuk's remarks. The Russian defence ministry said earlier on Friday that it had completed the withdrawal of its troops from the western bank of the Dnipro and that Russia had not suffered any loss of personnel or equipment during the withdrawal.
Reuters could not independently verify those details.
Kyiv's forces have been bearing down on Kherson since Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered his troops on Wednesday to withdraw. The city had been occupied since soon after Russia's Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Khlan said Russian troops had blown up the Antonivskiy Bridge connecting the west and east banks of the Dnipro after retreating, and that they had also blown up a power plant.
Ukraine's public broadcaster quoted local residents on Friday as saying the bridge had collapsed, and published a photograph showing whole sections of the bridge missing.
Reuters could not immediately determine what had caused the bridge's collapse.
(Reporting by Max Hunder, Writing by Dan Peleschuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
