Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

Kherson is free

- CHRIS HUGHES chris.hughes@mirror.co.uk

The lives of the Russian military personnel are always a priority for us MINISTER SERGEI SHOIGU ON YESTERDAY’S WITHDRAWAL

Retreat as ‘Putin’s Brain’ demands end for tyrant

Defence & Security Editor

UKRAINIANS hugged and kissed soldiers in freed Kherson yesterday after a desperate Russian retreat.

Key Moscow figure Alexander Dugin, dubbed “Putin’s Brain”, called for the Russian despot to be toppled and hinted he should be killed after the defeat.

Last night it was claimed the West has secretly offered humiliatin­g “surrender” terms to Russia to end the war.

Over 4,000 troops were suspected of being trapped in Kherson as they prepared to cross the Dnipro River.

The retreat’s trail of destructio­n may resemble Iraqi troops fleeing Kuwait in 1991 – known as the “highway of death”.

Thousands of troops fled to the eastern side of the Dnipro River but many are feared dead.

Sources said Moscow failed to reinstate air defence systems, freeing up Kyiv warplanes and artillery units to strike

Blasts were heard overnight near Kherson.

Locals raised flags in the city, the gateway to Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.

In Crimea, Russians are digging trenches as it is believed Kyiv will attack it. Kherson is a humiliatin­g loss for Putin as it is the only provincial capital seized since February’s invasion. Kyiv’s special forces entered the city as the withdrawal ended at 5am.

Kremlin Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu defended the move, adding: “The lives of the Russian military personnel are always a priority for us.”

It is claimed Russia has lost almost 80,000 soldiers in the war. More than 1,000 are believed to have died in the past 24 hours. On the surrender deal,

Prof Valery Solovey, a former academic at Moscow’s Institute of Internatio­nal Relations, said: “This offer has been negotiated with Ukrainian leadership.”

It would involve Russia giving up all invaded territory except Crimea, which would remain frozen until 2029.

Putin would avoid criminal charges, enabling him to stay in power.

A Moscow source claimed he is considerin­g the blueprint.

An overnight missile strike also killed six people in Mykolaiv, near Kherson.

President Volodymyr Zelensky called it “the terrorist state’s cynical response to our successes at the front”.

 ?? ?? FLY THE FLAG Locals hug troops in Kherson
BACK IN CHARGE Locals with flags in city’s main square
FLY THE FLAG Locals hug troops in Kherson BACK IN CHARGE Locals with flags in city’s main square

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom