In Major Victory, Ukrainian Troops Reclaim Kherson Region After Months

Ukrainian forces swept into the key city of Kherson on Friday as Russian troops retreated to the east, delivering a major victory to Kyiv and marking one of the most significant setbacks for President Vladimir Putin since his invasion began.

Elated civilians who had survived months of Russian occupation descended on Kherson’s central square, hugging newly arrived Ukrainian soldiers, snapping selfies with them and waving Ukrainian flags.

Footage of the jubilant scenes emerged hours after Russia announced it had withdrawn from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the strategic southern region of Kherson, leaving the regional capital of Kherson and surrounding areas to the Ukrainians.

The retreat is a major setback for Putin's war effort in Ukraine. Kherson was the only Ukrainian regional capital that Russian forces had taken since the invasion in February.

Their withdrawal east across the Dnipro cedes large swaths of land that Russia has occupied since the beginning of the war and that Putin only five weeks ago formally declared as Russian territory.

“The Ukrainian flag has been raised in Kherson. The Ukrainian flag will now be displayed on all buildings in Kherson. We have dreamed of this since the first days of occupation,” Serhiy Khlan, a member of Ukraine's Kherson regional council.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a nighttime video of celebrations in Kherson, where a crowd was waving flags and chanting “ZSU,” the Ukrainian acronym for the armed forces, on Friday evening.

He described it as a “historic day” for Ukraine and said, we are returning our country's south, we are returning Kherson.

Right now, our defenders are on the outskirts of town. We are only a few steps away from entering. However, special units are already in the city, Zelensky added.

Zelensky urged to surrender of Russian soldiers if they remain on the West Bank 

He said, “We promise to treat you by the law and international standards, and to those Russian soldiers who have disguised themselves as civilians and are hiding somewhere, I would like to say that you cannot hide. We'll find you anyway.

Ukrainian forces appeared to encounter little or no resistance as they advanced through much of the Kherson region on Friday. Civilians greet troops in social media videos from towns and villages across the region's west bank.