Ukraine troops arrive in Kherson, remain wary of Russia

Nov. 11 (UPI) — Ukrainian troops arrived in the central city of Kherson on Friday for the first time since the early days of Moscow’s invasion of the country, potentially marking a turning point in the war.

Russia, which had controlled the city since the early weeks of the war, announced recently it was evacuating its forces. Kherson had been the only regional capital Moscow had captured since its nearly 10-month war.

Russia had evacuated the city across the Dnipro River, but Ukrainian authorities remained skeptical about the retreat and entered the city cautiously. Moscow said it had not lost “a single piece of military hardware” or troops in the evacuation.

“The number of Ukrainian flags returning to their rightful place within the framework of the ongoing defense operation is already dozens,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday. “Everything that is happening now has been achieved by months of brutal struggle. It was achieved through courage, pain and loss.”

Kremlin lead spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia still controls much of the Kherson region, which Russia annexed, even though it is no longer in the capital city.

“This is a subject of the Russian Federation,” Peskov said of the Kherson region. “It has been legally fixed and defined. There can be no changes here.”

When asked if the evacuation of Kherson was “humiliating” for Russia and President Vladimir Putin, Peskov said, “No.”

Russia, though, continued its advances in other areas. Six Ukrainians died and three others were injured in Mykolvaiv after a Russian strike hit the city.

Moscow claimed on Friday that its air defense systems shot down 32 HIMARS rockets and five HARM anti-radar missiles from Ukraine, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

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