Before leaving Kherson, the conquerors destroyed all critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity. Kherson’s mayor said the humanitarian situation was “serious” with shortages of water, medicine and bread as residents celebrated their liberation on what Zelensky called a “historic day”. Reuters also reported that the mayor, Roman Holovnia, said on television: The city has a critical shortage, mainly of water. At the moment there is not enough medicine, there is not enough bread because it cannot be baked: there is no electricity. Zelensky said authorities, in their efforts to stabilize the area, faced nearly 2,000 mines, wire and unexploded ordnance left by the departing Russians. Ukrainian forces enter the city of Kherson on Saturday after the Russian retreat. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Updated at 07:27 GMT Important events Show only key events Please enable JavaScript to use this feature On the road to Kherson, villagers holding flowers waited to greet and kiss Ukrainian soldiers as they poured in to secure control of the right bank of the Dnipro river on Saturday after the Russian retreat. “We became 20 years younger in the last two days,” said Valentyna Buhailova, 61, shortly before a Ukrainian soldier jumped out of a small truck and hugged her and her partner Nataliya Porkhunuk, 66, in a small village near the center of Kherson. But Reuters also reported that artillery fire surrounded the international airport and police said they were setting up checkpoints in and around the city and scanning for mines left behind. Ukrainians welcome Kiev troops as its army enters Kherson. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Updated at 07:44 GMT
The humanitarian situation in Hersoniss is “serious” amid water and medicine shortages – mayor
Russian forces destroyed key infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson before retreating, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Before leaving Kherson, the conquerors destroyed all critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity. Kherson’s mayor said the humanitarian situation was “serious” with shortages of water, medicine and bread as residents celebrated their liberation on what Zelensky called a “historic day”. Reuters also reported that the mayor, Roman Holovnia, said on television: The city has a critical shortage, mainly of water. At the moment there is not enough medicine, there is not enough bread because it cannot be baked: there is no electricity. Zelensky said authorities, in their efforts to stabilize the area, faced nearly 2,000 mines, wire and unexploded ordnance left by the departing Russians. Ukrainian forces enter the city of Kherson on Saturday after the Russian retreat. Photo: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images Updated at 07:27 GMT
Summary
Welcome back to the Guardian’s continuing live coverage of the war in Ukraine. I’m Adam Fulton and here’s a quick look at the latest developments as it approaches 9am in Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Kiev forces have taken control of more than 60 settlements in the Kherson region and “stabilization measures” are underway in the city of Kherson after it was recaptured by Ukrainian forces. Ukraine’s president said Russian forces destroyed all of Kherson’s critical infrastructure before leaving, including communications and water supplies along with heat and electricity supplies. Ukrainians welcomed Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson, as Kyiv said it was working to de-mine the strategic southern city after an eight-month occupation and restore power across the region. In the formerly occupied village of Pravdyne, outside Kherson, returning locals hugged their neighbors, some unable to hold back tears, AFP reported. “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. Yaroslav Janusevic said from the city of Kherson in a video posted on social media that while demining took place, a curfew was in effect and traffic in and out of the city was restricted. Pro-Moscow forces are fighting a much tougher battle elsewhere, and fighting with Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donetsk region is hellish, Zelensky said. “It’s just hell there – there’s extremely fierce fighting there every day. But our units are defending bravely – withstanding the tremendous pressure of the invaders, maintaining our defensive lines,” he said. Ukraine will decide on the timing and content of any negotiating framework with Russia, according to a readout of a meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba at the ASEAN Cambodia Summit in Phnom Penh . . Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, and the two leaders emphasized deepening political, trade and economic cooperation, the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday. The discussion of “certain topical issues on the bilateral agenda,” including the transport and logistics sector, the Kremlin said. He did not say when the call was made and made no mention of Iranian arms supplies to Moscow. Significant new damage to the large Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine is visible after Russia’s withdrawal from nearby Kherson, US satellite imagery company Maxar reported to Reuters. Russia said there was still no agreement to extend a deal that would allow Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea, reiterating its insistence on unfettered access to world markets for its own food and fertilizer exports, Reuters reported.
