Some, like General Mark Milley, believed that Russia’s withdrawal from the city it occupied for eight months could be the tactical advantage Ukraine needed to start negotiations to end the war. Russia this week even signaled it was open to talks, although Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would only engage in peace talks with Russia if it returned all occupied territory, provided war damage compensation and faced prosecution for war crimes her. People drink sparkling wine, wave flags and sing songs as they celebrate the liberation of part of the city of Kherson in Independence Square on November 12, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Photo by Ed Ram/Getty Images) WITH RUSSIA’S WITHDRAWAL FROM KHERSON, RUSSIA AND UKRAINE HAVE A CHANCE TO NEGOTIATE PEACE The US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Michael Carpenter, supported Zelensky’s longstanding stance and pointed to the new atrocities revealed in Kherson. “As Ukrainian forces liberate Kherson, they are uncovering evidence of torture and other heinous crimes committed by Russian occupation forces,” he said in a statement on Twitter. “Ukraine must free all its citizens from this barbarism.” UK Defense Secretary Ben Wallace echoed that sentiment and highlighted a concern noted by some defense experts who have warned that Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson could be a ruse. “While the withdrawal is welcome, no one is going to underestimate the threat posed by the Russian Federation,” he said in a statement on Saturday. Wallace said Russia’s withdrawal from the southern city just two months after its forces were forced out of Kharkiv marked “another strategic failure for them”. “Now me [Kherson] Also, when they surrender, the common people of Russia must surely ask themselves, “What was all this for?”, he wondered. “The Russian military has suffered massive loss of life as a result of its illegal invasion and has achieved only international isolation and humiliation. Ukraine will push.” Ukrainians gather in central Kyiv to celebrate the recapture of the city of Kherson, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue) RUSSIA ORDERS MORE SUPERSONIC MISSILES AS UKRAINIAN BRUSH WARNS OF POSSIBLE ATTACK AT G20 MEETING Milley said earlier this week that the US estimates “well over” 100,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded in fighting since the February 24 invasion. “The same thing probably on the Ukrainian side,” Milley added, noting that another 40,000 Ukrainian civilians are believed to have been killed. “There was enormous pain, human pain,” he said. Russian troops have retreated to the east side of the Dnieper River that lines the city of the east bank of the Kherson. People drink sparkling wine, wave flags and sing songs as they celebrate the liberation of part of the city of Kherson in Independence Square on November 12, 2022, in Kyiv, Ukraine. (Ed Ram/Getty Images) CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Ukrainian troops continue to advance in the Kherson region, and it remains unclear whether Russia plans to evacuate its forces further in a bid to avoid the losses of personnel and military equipment it saw in Kharkiv in September. Milley estimated that 20,000-30,000 Russian troops are in the Kherson region and said it could take weeks for a force of that size to retreat. Caitlin McFall is a reporter at Fox News Digital, covering Politics, US and global news.
