Reuters reports that during the visit, the president said “We are moving forward” as he addressed soldiers in front of the administration building in the central square. “We are ready for peace, peace for our whole country.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the media in Kherson. Photo: Bernat Armangué/AP He thanked NATO and other allies for their support in the war against Russia and said the United States’ delivery of High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (Himars) had made a big difference to Ukraine’s war effort. Parents with children, some pushing baby carriages, also gathered in the central square in front of the administration building until recently held by Russian forces. Some people waved Ukrainian flags and others had the flag draped over their shoulders. “I’m really happy, you can tell from the reaction of the people, their reaction is not organized,” said Zelensky, who was flanked by heavily armed security guards. “The world was waiting for the Ukrainian army, our soldiers, for all of us.” Residents of the area react during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters He said it was important to visit Kherson to show support for the residents who endured about eight months of Russian occupation and to prove to them that “we are really coming back, we are really raising our flag”. Asked by reporters where Ukrainian forces might go next, he said: “Not Moscow … We are not interested in another country’s territory.” Kherson is one of the regions of Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex, despite the fact that it does not control the territory. On his official Telegram channel, Zelenskiy posted a series of images from the trip, accompanied by the simple messages “Kherson – Ukraine 🇺🇦” and “Our heroes 🇺🇦” Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature
Summary of the day so far…
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spent thirty minutes on Monday morning visiting the newly liberated city of Kherson, days after Russian troops withdrew from the city over the Dnipro River in the southern part of Kherson Region. During the visit, the president said “We are moving forward” as he addressed soldiers in front of the administration building in the central square. “We are ready for peace, peace for our whole country.” Russian forces destroyed key infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson before retreating, Zelensky said in a nightly speech. Russian troops “destroyed all critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity,” he said in his final national address. The mayor of Kherson said the humanitarian situation was “serious” due to lack of water, medicine and bread. Zelensky said authorities had dealt with nearly 2,000 mines, wires and unexploded ordnance left by Russian troops. Ukrainians welcomed Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson, as Kyiv said it was working to de-mine the strategic southern city and restore power across the region. In the formerly occupied villages of Pravdyne and Snihurivka, outside Kherson, returning locals embraced returning troops and their neighbors, some unable to hold back tears. “Victory at last!” said one. The head of the Kherson regional state administration said that everything is being done to “return to normal life” in the region. Speaking from the city of Kherson in a video poster on social media, Yaroslav Yanushevych said that while the demining took place, a curfew had been put in place and traffic in and out of the city had been restricted. Zelensky added that 226 settlements in the Kherson region will be rehabilitated, with more than 100,000 local residents. Ukraine can “feel the approach of our victory,” he added in his final national address. Zelensky accused Russian soldiers of war crimes and killing civilians in Kherson. “Investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes. Bodies of dead civilians and soldiers were found. The Russian army left behind the same brutality that it did in other parts of the country where it entered,” he said on Sunday. There was confusion after it was reported that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov had been hospitalized after arriving in Bali for the G20 summit. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed the claim as “the height of falsification” and released a video of Lavrov sitting and reading documents in his hotel. In the video Lavrov says “This is a kind of game that is not new in politics. Western journalists must be more honest – they must write the truth.” However, Bali’s governor said that while Lavrov was in good health, he was being treated in hospital for a check-up. The EU’s top diplomat said Ukraine will decide when to start talks with Russia, amid growing speculation that Western capitals will press Kyiv for negotiations. Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said: “Ukraine will decide what to do. It is our duty to support them.” He was coming for the monthly meeting of EU foreign ministers, which will focus on the war in Ukraine. Borrell said the Russian retreat and Ukraine’s recapture of Kherson was “very good news” and showed that the EU’s strategy of military support was the right one.
That’s it from me, Martin Bellam, for now. I’ll be back with you later. Léonie Chao-Fong will be with you soon. Vladimir Putin’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters this morning that the Russian president will not travel to Bali for the G20 summit because “circumstances dictate the president’s priority to be in the Russian Federation,” according to a report by state news agency Tass.
Zelenskiy on a visit to Kherson: important to show support to residents
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spent thirty minutes on Monday morning visiting the newly liberated city of Kherson, days after Russian troops withdrew from the city over the Dnipro River in the southern part of Kherson region. Reuters reports that during the visit, the president said “We are moving forward” as he addressed soldiers in front of the administration building in the central square. “We are ready for peace, peace for our whole country.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses the media in Kherson. Photo: Bernat Armangué/AP He thanked NATO and other allies for their support in the war against Russia and said the United States’ delivery of High Mobility Artillery Missile Systems (Himars) had made a big difference to Ukraine’s war effort. Parents with children, some pushing baby carriages, also gathered in the central square in front of the administration building until recently held by Russian forces. Some people waved Ukrainian flags and others had the flag draped over their shoulders. “I’m really happy, you can tell from the reaction of the people, their reaction is not organized,” said Zelensky, who was flanked by heavily armed security guards. “The world was waiting for the Ukrainian army, our soldiers, for all of us.” Residents of the area react during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. Photo: Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters He said it was important to visit Kherson to show support for the residents who endured about eight months of Russian occupation and to prove to them that “we are really coming back, we are really raising our flag”. Asked by reporters where Ukrainian forces might go next, he said: “Not Moscow … We are not interested in another country’s territory.” Kherson is one of the regions of Ukraine that the Russian Federation has claimed to annex, despite the fact that it does not control the territory. On his official Telegram channel, Zelenskiy posted a series of images from the trip, accompanied by the simple messages “Kherson – Ukraine 🇺🇦” and “Our heroes 🇺🇦” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted a series of photos from his visit to Kherson on his Telegram channel with the simple message “Kherson – Ukraine 🇺🇦” in Ukrainian and English. Updated at 10.19 GMT Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, tweeted that the EU was increasing its money to support food security, saying: “Putin’s war is bringing millions to the brink of starvation.” Putin’s war brings millions to the brink of starvation. The EU continues to support food security worldwide. Today we are further increasing our food aid by €210 million. This brings our investments to strengthen food systems close to €8 billion by 2024. — Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) November 14, 2022 Updated at 10.19 GMT Here is a short video clip of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kherson. Updated at 09:56 GMT Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova just posted a video on her Telegram account that appears to show Sergei Lavrov working at a table outside his hotel suite in Bali and reacting to the news that he is in the hospital. Reuters reports that in the video, Lavrov says: “This is a kind of game that is not new in politics. Western journalists must be more honest – they must write the truth.” However, Bali’s governor said Lavrov was in good health and had been hospitalized for a check-up. Updated at 09:56 GMT While there continues to be some confusion about Sergey Lavrov in Bali, it is certain that Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Kherson and we have just received some…
