“Russia’s defense ministry said on Friday it had completed the withdrawal of troops from the western bank of the Dnipro river in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region.
In its daily briefing, the ministry said all Russian forces and equipment had been transferred to the left, or eastern, bank of the Dnipro. It said the withdrawal was completed by 0500 Moscow time (0200 GMT) on Friday morning.
“The transfer of Russian troop units to the left bank of the Dnipro river has been completed,” the defense ministry said in a statement.
“Not a single unit of military equipment or weapons have been left on the right (western) bank. All Russian servicemen crossed to the left bank,” it added, saying that Russia had not suffered any loss of personnel or equipment during the withdrawal.
Reuters could not independently verify those details. Pro-Russian war bloggers had reported late on Thursday that Russian forces crossing the river were coming under heavy fire from Ukrainian forces. The ministry said Ukrainian forces had struck Dnipro River crossings five times overnight with U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket systems.
Russia ordered the withdrawal on Wednesday, saying it had concluded that attempts to maintain its position and supply troops, including in the regional capital Kherson, were “futile” in the face of a mounting Ukrainian counteroffensive.
The speed of the withdrawal was faster than Ukraine and the United States had said they expected.”
Comment: Ukrainian troops have reached the center of Kherson City without having met significant resistance from Russian forces so it may well be true that Russia has completed its withdrawal from the right bank to new positions east of the river. pl
Russia Says It Has Completed Kherson Withdrawal | Newsmax.com
https://odessa-journal.com/antonovsky-bridge-destroyed-photo/
Antonovsky bridge destroyed. The claims are that 20 to 30 thousand Russian troops made it out with barely a casualty. That will further inflame gossip about behind the scenes deals. Was the Berlin Wall erected on a physical geographic barrier such as a river? Probably not. I ask because I wonder if some “great minds” have been similarly cogitating of late.
F&L
Hmmmm.”cogitating of late”.
there is potential for a breakout of some Joyce or Yeasts.The finicky of rebuff is my latest.
The cogitate of late
Said to the finicky of rebuff
Tell you what my mate
They have the right stuff
Did they actually begin this withdrawl a lot earlier and only pulled the last troops out in the past couple of days? It’s been obvious they need to do this for some time.
Yes. The withdrawal started in mid October.
I would imagine Nova Kakhovka dam would have been the main rallying point for Russians rather than Kherson as it has a operational bridge on top of the dam that Ukraine is not willing to destroy. So abandonment of Kherson doesn’t mean that withdrawal is complete.
voislav,
The Russians blew several road spans of the Nova Kakhovka dam, but not the dam itself. The other bridges got the same treatment as they retreated. What Russians remain on the right bank are dead, wounded, captured or soon to be captured. Or they can choose to freeze/drown in the Dnipro.
Boy oh boy the Russians were faster over the Dnieper than Washington over the East! Now where from here. Is there a link up in store from western Kherson into eastern Kherson and then north to Luhansk and Dombbass? Or, does the UKM wait until the Russian “7th cavalry” (the 300M now well appointed and trained troops) appears on the scene ready for battle.
I have also read that the west is sending anti aircraft and air defense systems these days. If Putin insists on bombing the Ukrainians back to the 18th Cent that makes sense.
“What Russians remain on the right bank are “….
What Russians would those be, TTG?
Most got out because they started the withdrawal back in October long before the scripted announcement was made. But not all got across despite the lies to the contrary. Some units were left in contact. Some of those panicked and scrambled to leave when the Surovikin/Shoigu video was broadcast. Some of those died at the crossing points. Stragglers have been captured.
Amazing really. The Russians took their time, evacuating the civilians first, taking artwork the valued because of its historical importance with them, so it couldn’t be destroyed by the Ukrainians, like they are doing in Odessa, and walked across the Dnieper river after the political and military leadership said they would, while keeping an overwhelming number of Ukrainians at bay, who relentlessly tried to make their huge offensive work, to no avail.
I’m sure the Russians were bragging about walking across, taking all of their stuff with them, and no losses whatsoever, but still, they were not chased out of this westbank area, calling for their mother, and Surovikin stated he needs them elsewhere. Elsewhere is where the Russians are making progress already, which is ‘underreported’ in the west for obvious reasons, even though the ‘western sources map’ gets updated. I’m sure this will be read by some as ‘spoiling the party’, but to win in a war, you can’t claim victory when the enemy is no longer present, and left the door wide open. I do understand that Ukraine and NATO need to prevent ‘Ukraine Fatigue’ to keep the money coming, but as Brian Berletic explained on his ‘New Atlas’ channel, using nothing but articles published in western media, and the ‘western sources map’, even with plenty of money the stocks of weapons NATO used to supply Ukraine are depleted. So, where do we go to from here? Any guesses to enlighten me?
A few more orderly evacuations and this war will be over.
Yes, though you and I know that is not going to happen. Moreover, from what I’m reading and hearing, NATO is having all kinds of problems finding weapon systems and ammunition already, and with this FTX-money laundering scheme, deeply involved in this campaign to get Biden his ‘win’, in Ukraine and at home in the elections, things are not looking good. Ukraine is beyond broke, in need of serious amounts of expensive well NATO-trained troops to fight its war for them as mercenaries, and if Surovikin is serious about redeploying these elite paratroopers that were previously bogged down on the westbank of the Dnieper for offensive purposes, instead of defending farmland, while these recently mobilized forces arrive in numbers, with all sorts of equipment, as is widely reported, NATO may run out of steam before the end of the year. The mood of the people in Europe may change rapidly with hardship increasing, and everybody blaming the UK/US for blowing up Northstream, though it may not be said openly, yet. But this pressure-cooker is going to pop. And then what?