Ukraine’s top military commander said on Thursday that Russia had “no choice but to flee” in the Kherson region. “Significant efforts of our military are behind the so-called ‘goodwill gesture’ of the enemy,” wrote Valerii Zaluzhnyi on Twitter. “Just as the enemy retreated from Kyiv and Kharkiv region, Zmiinyi (Snake) Island, possible withdrawal from Kherson is the result of our active operations.” In the past day alone, Zaluzhnyi said Ukraine had liberated hundreds of square kilometers of territory in the push towards the occupied city of Kherson. “Just last day along the Petropavlivka–Novoraisk axis, [Ukrainian] Defense Forces advanced 7 kilometers, took control of 6 settlements, 107 square kilometers [Ukrainian] Along the Pervomaiske-Kherson axis, we advanced 7 kilometers, regained control over 6 settlements, the area of the liberated area is 157 square kilometers. Zaluzny said that in Ukraine’s counterattack towards occupied Kherson, its forces “destroyed the logistics lines and support system, disrupted the enemy’s command and control system.” However, he expressed skepticism that Russia would voluntarily withdraw from the entire Kherson region west of the Dnipro River. “As of now, we can neither confirm nor deny the information about his so-called withdrawal [Russian] occupation troops from Kherson,” he said. “We continue to conduct aggressive operations according to our plan.”
