Ukraine: Russia announces the withdrawal of its forces stationed in Kherson
Russian soldiers pictured in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine on May 20, 2022. AP
Text by: RFI Follow
5 mins
For several weeks, contradictory rumors had been circulating about a possible withdrawal of the Russian army from Kherson, a position that had become untenable and subjected to very strong pressure from the Ukrainian army.
This Wednesday afternoon, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced “
authorizing a withdrawal to the left bank of the Dnieper
” of Russian forces stationed in Kherson.
Which means abandoning the city, a major symbolic defeat.
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Live on television, Sergei Choigou ended up admitting it: his forces will abandon Kherson, “
to save
”, he explains, “
the lives of our soldiers and our civilians
”, reports our colleague
Léo Vidal- Giraud
.
The Russian Minister of Defense authorizes "
a withdrawal to the left bank of the Dnieper
" of the forces stationed in Kherson, on the recommendation of Sergei Surovikin, in charge of Russian military operations in Ukraine.
The Dnieper is the river that borders this regional capital.
Target for several months of a Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south of the country, Kherson is strategic for both Russia and Ukraine.
According to General Surovikin, this withdrawal will not only preserve the lives of the Russian soldiers, but also that of the inhabitants of Kherson who remained there despite the course of events.
On Wednesday morning, Russian flags were removed from the city center.
Another harbinger: the Russian army has begun in recent hours the destruction of the bridges linking the city to the left bank of the Dnieper.
However, while part of the Russian troops has already withdrawn to this bank, these bridges appeared to be essential to allow the supply of Russian soldiers who remained in the city.
A "true betrayal"
Even if it is not really a military rout as we saw in September with the advances of the Ukrainian army near Kharkiv, it is still a symbolic catastrophe for the Russians.
Kherson is the only regional capital that the Russian army managed to conquer in Ukraine.
In the eyes of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, it is even a now Russian city, since its annexation.
From the beginning of the war, the occupiers had installed signs in the city proclaiming that “
Russia is here forever
”.
They broadcast their media there, imposed the circulation of the Russian rouble there.
Symbolically, it is therefore a terrible blow to now be forced to leave the city.
On social networks, the dissatisfaction is immense.
Many commentators speak of a "
shame
", of a "
true betrayal
".
However, ultra-nationalist figures, usually very critical of Russian failures, such as Yevgueni Prigojine, founder of Wagner, or the Chechen Ramzan Kadyrov, have publicly approved of this decision.
This is a surprising point;
difficult, however, to imagine that this new military defeat of the army will not cause some political turmoil in Moscow in the days to come.
"Foolish to talk about withdrawal"
On the Ukrainian side, for the time being, the authorities are taking the news with extreme caution, and fearing a Russian diversionary maneuver, explains our correspondent in Kiev,
Stéphane Siohan
.
Certainly, for several days, observers have been speculating about the intentions of the Russian army to withdraw from the left bank of the Kherson region, where a fierce battle has been going on since this summer.
And several harbingers have hinted at a Russian withdrawal, such as the evacuation of the administrative centers of Kherson by the occupier.
However, the kyiv government is betting on caution.
But "
we see no sign that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight, part of the Russian troops are kept in the city
", declared Mykhaïlo Podoliak, a close adviser to Volodymyr Zelensky.
The announcement is perceived as a new victory, after kyiv in the spring, or Kharkiv this fall.
But "
as long as the Ukrainian flag does not fly over Kherson, it is nonsense to speak of a Russian withdrawal
", adds Mr. Podoliask.
If the possibility that the Kremlin wants to push kyiv to sit down at the negotiating table to temporize exists, experts fear a maneuver intended to suck in the Ukrainians, or reinforce the offensive on other fronts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday evening that his country was reacting with "extreme caution" to the announcement of the Russian withdrawal from the city of Kherson.
"
The enemy does not give us a gift, does not show a gesture of goodwill, we must win everything
," Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily message to Ukrainians.
"
We must therefore exercise extreme caution, without emotions, without taking unnecessary risks, in order to liberate all of our land with as minimal losses as possible
," he added.
►Read again: Ukraine: the uncertain Russian strategy in Kherson
If doubts remain, the decision to abandon Kherson seems logical, from the point of view of the Russian general staff.
The Ukrainians were encircling them, recalls
Romain Lemaresquier
, from the international editorial staff of RFI.
The Moscow troops no longer had any chance of victory, in the event that combat had been engaged.
The announcement could therefore mark a turning point, but it does not surprise the French general Dominique Trinquand.
Kherson was the take-off board, if I may say so, to go to Odessa.
The Russians know very well that they can no longer go to Odessa.
So Kherson is of average utility.
The second point is that the Ukrainian offensive eventually led them to be beaten on the right bank of the Dnieper.
And so, they make the rational choice to get off this right bank to establish an anti-tank ditch: the Dnieper.
Dominique Trinquand, former head of the French mission to the United Nations
Romain Lemaresquier
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