Ukrainian anthem rings out in Kherson but battle continues
UKRAINE President Volodymyr Zelensky declared Kherson is “ours” after Russia withdrew troops from the city at the weekend.
“We are winning battles on the ground. But the war continues,” foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said after Ukraine’s triumphant recovery of Kherson – the only regional capital Moscow had captured in the nine months since Russia’s invasion.
In the port city located on the Black
Sea, the Ukrainian national anthem rang out in the central Kherson square as a small crowd sang along while huddled around a bonfire, a video published by Ukraine’s parliament on social media showed.
“Special units are already in the city,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram, posting footage in which Ukrainian troops appeared to gather with residents. About 50km from Kherson, Andriy Zholob, a commander of a medical unit, said they had been greeted by smiling faces.
“We see children running to meet us and greeting us,” Zholob said.
In nearby Mykolaiv province, which Russian forces have failed to capture despite months of attacks, governor Vitaliy Kim wrote on Telegram that the entire region, except the Kinburn cape in the south was back in Ukrainian control.
The US hailed Ukraine’s “extraordinary victory” in recapturing Kherson from the Russians on Saturday. “It’s a big moment and it’s due to the incredible tenacity and skill of the Ukrainians, backed by the relentless and united support of the US and our allies,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said.
But Kuleba warned that Kyiv still sees “Russia mobilising more conscripts and bringing more weapons to Ukraine”.
“I understand that everyone wants this war to end as soon as possible,” he said at a meeting with Australian PM Anthony Albanese in which he called for the Western world’s continued support.
In Kherson, Kyiv’s forces reconnected the local TV network to Ukrainian broadcasters after media reported that retreating Russian forces blew up the TV tower and energy facilities, leaving the city without power.