“Our people. Ours. Kherson,” Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. “Today is a historic day. We are taking back Kherson.” He said that special units of the armed forces were inside Kherson and that other Ukrainian troops were approaching from the outskirts. “The people of Kherson were waiting. They never left Ukraine,” Zelensky later added on video. “The same will happen to the cities that are still waiting for us to take them back.”
Zelensky: “Today is a historic day”
To view this video, please enable JavaScript and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video His announcement came as videos posted on social media showed jubilant crowds of locals celebrating in the streets and greeting Ukrainian soldiers as they entered the city. The flags of Ukraine and the European Union can also be seen flying above a monument in Kherson’s main square. Earlier, Ukrainian intelligence spokesman Andriy Yusov told The Associated Press that “an operation to liberate Kherson” and the surrounding region of the same name is underway. Russia has abandoned the only regional capital it had seized since its invasion in FebruaryImage: Cover-Images/IMAGO The withdrawal of Russian forces marks a major setback for Moscow, as the city of Kherson was the only major Ukrainian regional capital to fall into Russian hands since the start of the war. The region is also a strategic gateway to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014. “Ukraine is winning another important victory right now and it proves that whatever Russia says or does, Ukraine will win,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. The White House called the recapture of the city a “remarkable thing” for Ukraine. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said that “It looks like the Ukrainians have just won an extraordinary victory where the only regional capital that Russia had captured in this war is now back under a Ukrainian flag.” Here are the other main headlines from the war in Ukraine on Friday, November 11:
Conflicting reports of Russian retreat
Before Ukrainian forces entered the city of Kherson, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that all its troops had been withdrawn. He reported that 30,000 troops were moved to the left bank of the Dnipro River without losing a single soldier and leaving behind “not a single piece of military equipment.”
But Ukraine’s defense intelligence unit disputed that, saying in a tweet that more than half of the Russian forces stationed on the right bank of the river were still there.
Moscow announced earlier this week that it planned to withdraw its forces from the right bank of the Dnipro, where the city of Kherson is located.
Ukrainian officials had expressed skepticism about the announcement and said it would likely take days, if not weeks, for Russian troops to fully withdraw from Kherson.
Russian millbloggers describe a chaotic retreat from Kherson
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Germany to send more air aid to Ukraine: Scholz
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Berlin’s priority for helping Ukraine should be to strengthen air defenses in cities and rebuild infrastructure. “Russia is bombing Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Russia wants to make sure that people in Ukraine cannot survive the winter cold,” he said in an on-scene interview with RND newspapers. “We are currently discussing with several German companies what they can do to deal with this disaster.” Scholz added that the air defense systems Germany had provided so far had played an important role and that Berlin would work with its partners to send more. Earlier, the German Chancellor agreed in a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that more air defense systems will be procured. Scholz also told the audience that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin has long planned to invade Ukraine. “I am convinced that Putin decided on this war two years ago,” he said. “We saw the build-up of troops… We hoped they were just threatening gestures, but they weren’t: it was a war long in the planning.”
Russia bans entry of 200 US citizens, including Biden’s relatives
Moscow says it has barred entry to 200 US citizens, including the brothers of President Joe Biden and some senators. The measure is a response to Washington’s sanctions over Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the list of individuals includes officials, their close relatives, company heads and experts “who were involved in promoting the Russophobic campaign and supporting the regime in Kyiv.” Among those on the blacklist are Biden’s sister Valerie and brothers James and Francis, White House Press Secretary Karin Jean-Pierre and Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. Along with the more than 1,000 American citizens already banned from entering the country.
Russian strike kills 5 in Mykolaiv, governor says
A regional governor said at least five people were killed after a Russian strike on a residential building in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. “Strike on five-story residential building. Destroyed from the 5th to the 1st floor,” Mykolaiv regional governor Vitaly Kim wrote on social media. Russian forces have repeatedly pounded the city for months. Zelensky said the latest strike was a “cynical response to our successes on the front”, in an apparent reference to Ukraine’s advances in the Kherson region.
Strategic bridge near Kherson collapses: reports
Ukraine’s public broadcaster reported that the already damaged Antonivskiy Bridge collapsed. The strategic bridge was the only road crossing from Kherson to the Russian-controlled east bank of the Dnipro River. The condition of the bridge and the timing of its reported collapse could help determine whether or not Russian forces withdrew from the city of Kherson. Russian media reports that the bridge was bombed after Russian troops retreated. However, a Russian official in the Kherson region told Interfax that the bridge had not been blown up and was “in the same condition”.
UN and Russian officials discuss extending grain deal
UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci said talks between Russian officials and UN chiefs were underway in Geneva in a bid to expand the grain export deal. “It is hoped that the discussions will advance the progress made in facilitating the seamless export of food and fertilizers originating in the Russian Federation to global markets,” Velucci said. The UN is seeking to renew the Black Sea agreement on grain exports from Ukraine, which expires on November 19. Moscow has complained that another deal exempting Russian fertilizer from sanctions is “not being respected”. The agreement is valid for three years.
EU and partners agree €1bn to improve Ukraine’s export routes
The European Union has pledged to boost 1 billion euros ($1.04 billion) in efforts to export Ukraine’s grain harvest through alternative cargo routes to Black Sea ports. The European Commission, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the World Bank will invest the funds to improve and expand the so-called “Roads of Solidarity”. The investments will expand land and inland waterway transport between Ukraine and the neighboring countries of Poland, Romania, Moldova, Slovakia and Hungary. They also allow Kyiv to bring fuel or humanitarian aid into the country. Before the war, Ukraine mainly traded through its major Black Sea ports, but they were blockaded by Moscow’s forces when the invasion began. In July, a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey helped restart the flow of grain shipments. However, there are not the necessary safety guarantees for other goods. “Where Russia sowed destruction, Europe restored hope,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said, announcing the additional funding on social media. mm, fb/wmr (AFP, AP, Reuters)
