The recapture of Kherson was one of Ukraine’s biggest successes in the nearly nine-month war, dealing another stinging blow to the Kremlin. It could serve as a springboard for further advances in the occupied territories. President Joe Biden called it a “significant victory” for Ukraine. “I can do nothing but applaud the courage, determination and ability of the Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian army,” he said on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia. “They were really amazing. …we will continue to provide the Ukrainian people with the ability to defend themselves.” Large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine are still under Russian control, and the city of Kherson itself remains within range of Moscow’s missiles and missiles. Fierce fighting continued in other parts of Ukraine. Russia’s state news agency RIA Novosti reported that the town of Olesky, in the Russian-controlled area across the Dnieper River from Kherson, came under heavy artillery fire. Zelensky presented medals to soldiers in Kherson and posed for selfies with them while leaving a defiant note. “This is the beginning of the end of the war,” he said. “We are coming step by step to all the temporarily occupied territories.” But he also ruefully noted that the fighting “took our country’s best heroes.” The end of Russian occupation of the city – the only provincial capital captured since the February invasion – has sparked days of celebration. But as winter approaches, its remaining 80,000 residents are without heat, water and electricity, and lack food and medicine. Zelenskyy says the city is full of traps and mines. And Ukrainian authorities say there are signs of atrocities emerging, as in other liberated areas. Russian forces “destroyed everything in their path, destroyed the entire power grid,” he said. Communications providers said cellphone service was being restored, and the regional governor said a public wireless Internet access point would begin operating on Tuesday. The Institute for the Study of War said Ukraine won “a significant victory” in Kherson and other areas west of the Dnieper, but the Washington-based think tank noted that it “has by no means liberated the minimum territory necessary for its future security and economic survival”. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Moscow should not be underestimated. “The Russian armed forces maintain significant capability as well as large numbers of troops, and Russia has shown its willingness to suffer significant casualties,” he said in The Hague. In Ankara, Turkey, CIA Director Bill Burns met with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Naryskin, to outline the consequences if Moscow develops a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, according to a White House National Security Council official. The official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said Burns and Naryskin, the head of Russia’s SVR spy agency, did not discuss settling the war. Their meeting was the highest face-to-face engagement between US and Russian officials since before the invasion. While U.S. officials have warned for months about the prospect that Russia could use weapons of mass destruction in Ukraine amid setbacks on the battlefield, Biden administration officials have repeatedly said nothing has changed in U.S. intelligence assessments to suggest that Russian President Vladimir Putin has imminent plans to develop nuclear weapons. The United Nations General Assembly, meanwhile, passed a resolution calling for a mechanism to assess Russian compensation for damage and injuries in Ukraine. The resolution is non-binding and Russia’s ambassador said it had no legal force. Zelensky’s trip to Kherson was another in a series of unexpected visits to frontline areas at critical moments in the war. It was loaded with symbolism and the common touch — aimed at boosting the morale of soldiers and civilians. In one video, a visibly emotional Zelensky stood with his hand over his heart and sang the national anthem as troops saluted and stood in front and a soldier raised Ukraine’s yellow and blue flag. Residents draped with flags on their shoulders cheered, cried and shouted in gratitude as Zelensky passed. “It’s amazing. We waited nine months for him. Thank you,” said Danila Yuhrenko. Serhii Yukhmchuk, 47, said he and his wife spent the occupation mostly at home to avoid any Russians and protested by refusing to use the ruble as currency. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on Zelensky’s visit, other than to say: “You know it’s the territory of the Russian Federation.” Russia illegally annexed the Kherson region and three other Ukrainian provinces earlier this year, in addition to annexing the Crimean peninsula in 2014. In his speech on Sunday night, Zelensky said that “investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes and bodies of civilians and military personnel have been found.” “In the Kherson region, the Russian army left behind the same atrocities as in other regions of our country,” he said. “We will find and bring to justice every murderer. No doubt.” Residents said Russian troops ransacked the city and destroyed key infrastructure before retreating along the large Dnieper River to its east bank last week. Reconnecting the electricity supply is the priority, said regional governor Jaroslav Janusevic. The coming of winter makes the situation more difficult, with Stoltenberg saying Putin aims to “leave Ukraine cold and dark this winter”. Biden said he expected things to slow down somewhat militarily “because of the winter months and not being able to move as easily.” Over the past two months, Ukraine’s military has claimed to have recaptured dozens of towns and villages north of the city of Kherson, a key gateway to Crimea to the south. But the bitter war continued – with shelling, civilian casualties and each side reporting gains. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces captured the village of Pavlivka in the eastern Donetsk region. Multiple Ukrainian officials have reported heavy fighting there in recent weeks. In Luhansk, another eastern region illegally annexed by Moscow, Kiev forces recaptured 12 settlements, regional governor Serhiy Haidai said. A senior US military official said missile and drone strikes in Ukraine have slowed slightly since late October. The U.S. does not know the specific reason for the drop, the official said, but noted that Russia continues to see its weapons stockpiles dwindle, particularly precision-guided munitions. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to provide the U.S. military assessment, said Russia continues to strike civilian infrastructure, including the power grid, and the U.S. has no reason to believe Moscow will abandon her attacks soon. Asked whether the US would limit its arms contributions to Kyiv as winter sets in and fighting is likely to calm down a bit, the official said Washington would continue to work with allies to ensure it has what it needs and that air defense systems will be an ongoing priority.
Associated Press writers John Leicester in Kyiv, Hanna Arhirova in Odessa, Ukraine, and Aamer Madhani and Lolita Baldor in Washington contributed.
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