“Kherson is ours,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday (November 11) after Russia announced its completion of retreat from the Kherson region.
The country’s Armed Forces on social media said, “Kherson is returning to Ukrainian control and units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are entering the city.”
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Posting a video on Telegram of residents and troops gathering in the area, the Ukrainian president said, “As of now, our defenders are on the outskirts of the city. But special units are already in the city.”
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Several photos and videos of people waving Ukrainian flags in Kherson were posted by the country’s parliament. Residents celebrated the news by donning flags, popping champagne corks, and singing the Ukrainian national anthem. The retreat news was joyfully welcomed in Kyiv, AFP reported.
Dmytro Kuelba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said, “Ukraine is gaining another important victory right now and proves that whatever Russia says or does, Ukraine will win.” He also shared a video of Ukrainians taking down a billboard reading “Russia is here forever.”
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As per the Russian ministry, over 30,000 Russian service members, as well as over 5,000 pieces of gear and other military supplies have already been evacuated. However, Kremlin asserted that Kherson is still a part of Russia and that it did not regret annexing the entire region.
Moscow’s special military operation in Ukraine began nine months ago on February 24, Kherson was one of the major urban centres to collapse. It has been one of the four Ukrainian regions that Putin declared to have been annexed.
(With inputs from agencies)
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