In a televised announcement on Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered his troops to withdraw from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the face of Ukrainian attacks. General Sergei Surovikin, who is in charge of Russia’s military operations, called it a “very difficult decision” but admitted that “Kherson cannot be fully supplied and operational.” In Washington, Biden said the news showed the extent of the difficulties Moscow was facing. “It’s a testament to the fact that they have some real problems, Russia, the Russian military,” the US president told reporters. On the timing of the announcement, he added: “I find it interesting that they waited until after the [US midterm] election to make this judgment”. Ukraine responded with caution, saying that some Russian forces were still in Kherson and that additional Russian personnel were being sent to the area. In his national address on Wednesday night, Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged restraint despite “a lot of joy in the media today,” saying: “The enemy does not bring us gifts, does not make ‘goodwill gestures.’ We’re fighting our way up. “And when you fight, you must understand that every step is always resistance from the enemy, it is always the loss of our heroes’ lives. “Therefore, we move very cautiously, without emotions, without unnecessary risk. In the interest of liberating our entire land and to keep the losses as small as possible.” Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelenskiy, said in a statement to Reuters: “Until the Ukrainian flag flies over Kherson, there is no point in talking about a Russian withdrawal.” He later tweeted: “We see no signs of Russia giving up Kherson without a fight.” Actions speak louder than words. We see no signs of Russia giving up Kherson without a fight. A part of the ru-group is kept in the city and additional reserves are charged in the area. 🇺🇦 release territories based on intelligence evidence, not staged TV statements. — Mykhailo Podolyak (@Podolyak_M) November 9, 2022 Oleksiy Arestovych, another senior presidential aide, said Moscow’s intentions remained unclear. “They are withdrawing but not as much as it would be if it were a complete withdrawal or restructuring,” he said in a video posted on Telegram on Wednesday night. “And for now, we don’t know their intentions – will they engage in battle with us and try to hold the city of Kherson? They are moving too slowly,” he added. Mark Milley, the top US general and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said initial indications suggested Russia was continuing its withdrawal from the Kherson, but warned it could take time to complete. “It’s not going to take them a day or two, it’s going to take days and maybe even weeks to pull those forces south of that river,” Milley said, estimating that Russia probably had 20,000 to 30,000 troops north of the Dnipro River. in that area. Milley also estimated that more than 100,000 Russian soldiers had been killed and wounded in Ukraine, and added that Kiev’s armed forces “probably” suffered a similar level of casualties in the war. His comments offer the highest US estimate of casualties in the nearly nine-month conflict to date, and came as Ukraine and Russia face a potential winter lull in fighting that experts say could offer an opportunity for some sort of negotiations. Asked about the prospects for diplomacy in Ukraine, Milley noted that the early refusal to negotiate in the first world war worsened human suffering and led to millions more casualties. “So when there is an opportunity for negotiation, when peace can be achieved: seize the moment,” Milley told the Economic Club of New York. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia’s withdrawal was “part of a master plan” that showed Moscow had “completely lost momentum”. “It’s part of an overall pattern or picture that we’ve seen over the last month that Russia has completely lost momentum,” he told Sky News during a visit to London. “But we shouldn’t underestimate Russia, it still has potential,” he added. “We’ve seen the drones, we’ve seen the missile attacks. It shows that Russia can still do a lot of damage.” Defending Surovikin’s decision to withdraw, the head of the private military company Wagner and Ukrainian war hawk, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said: “The decision Surovikin took is not easy, but he acted like a man who is not afraid of responsibility. He did it in an organized manner, without fear, taking full responsibility for decision-making.” The announcement was also anticipated by prominent Russian war bloggers, who described it as a bitter blow. “Obviously we’re going to leave the city, no matter how painful it is to write about it now,” said the War Gonzo blog, which has more than 1.3 million subscribers on Telegram. “Yes, this is a black page in the history of the Russian army. Of the Russian state. Tragic page.” Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader who has often called for a more aggressive approach to the war, described Surovikin’s decision as “the difficult but right choice between senseless sacrifices for the sake of strong statements and saving the priceless lives of soldiers.” Ukraine’s victory in Kherson will be a major blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, just weeks after a high-profile ceremony in Moscow in which he announced the “forever” annexation of the Kherson region along with three other regions. The city of Kherson was the only regional capital to be captured by Russia after its invasion in February and has been at the center of a Ukrainian counter-offensive. The city controls both the only land route to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, and the mouth of the Dnipro, the river that bisects Ukraine. Reuters and AFP contributed to this report
