Russia still occupies about 70% of Kherson province. But his swift retreat is another humiliation for the Kremlin. Ukraine used US-supplied HIMARS missile launchers to destroy warehouses and supply routes, targeting important river crossings such as the Antonovsky Bridge, just over 10km from the city of Kherson. This made Russia’s hold on the right (west) bank increasingly untenable. Russia’s withdrawal, which began well before its official announcement, was orderly, avoiding chaotic scenes of the kind seen in eastern Ukraine in September. Russia appears to have withdrawn about 20,000 men without serious casualties or the loss of large amounts of equipment. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a think-tank in Washington, DC, estimates that Ukraine has now liberated about 74,000 square kilometers of Russian-held territory (see second map). This is over 50% of the territory Russia has gained since the invasion began. On November 15, there were reports that Russian forces had withdrawn about 15-20 kilometers beyond the eastern bank of the Dnieper. Russia is now creating new defensive lines, with trenches and fortifications, in the eastern part of Kherson province. Western officials doubt that Ukraine has the means to send a large force across the river. But there are rumors that Ukrainian forces have raided the Kinburn spit, a narrow finger that stretches into the Black Sea southwest of Kherson. There may be more battles to come in the province.■
