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The World Responds: Putin Pushed Out of Kherson in Ukraine

Su-25. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Su-25 Frogfoot in operations in Syria. Image Credit: Creative Commons.

Kherson Liberated – Russian Weakness Exposed to the World: When Russia began its unprovoked and unwarranted invasion of Ukraine in late February, many of its soldiers on the ground were told they’d be greeted with flowers and cheers. They likely expected victory parades following a quick war.

Instead, they have faced nearly nine months of hard fighting while they’ve been slowly pushed back.

On Friday, there were cheers from the civilians in the southern city of Kherson, but it was the Ukrainian Army that was actually greeted as liberators

Liberation of Kherson

Russia had completed its withdrawal from the city on Friday morning. It had been the first major urban center and the only regional capture it occupied.

As the Ukrainian forces advanced through much of the surrounding region during the day, they reportedly encountered little or no resistance. Videos posted to social media from the towns and villages throughout the region’s west bank also highlighted the joy from the civilian population – and the images were reminiscent of those from the Second World War when it was the Soviet Red Army that drove out the Nazis. This time, however, the Russians were forced out.

It is a major setback for Moscow.

Kherson had been one of the four regions that Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed in September. The city of Kherson had a prewar population of 280,000 and it fell into Russian hands in the opening days of the war, after Kremlin forces advanced from the Crimean Peninsula.

Ukrainian Advance

Its loss to Russia had been a significant blow to Ukraine, due to its location on the Dnieper River near the mouth of the Black Sea, but also its role as a major industrial center.

As CNN reported, “The scenes of people greeting Ukrainian troops across the region are in sharp contrast to claims by Russian-appointed officials in Kherson six weeks ago that 87% of voters there supported integration into the Russian Federation, in a referendum widely condemned by the international community as an illegal sham.”

The Kremlin has now ceded about 40 percent of the Kherson region, which straddles the Dnieper River – and Kyiv has liberated some 10,000 square kilometers of territory. However, Ukraine’s advance has been slowed as fleeing Russians blew up bridges and other strategic objects.

The liberation of the city could be an even larger blow to Russia, as it sits at a point where Ukraine can cut off fresh water from the river to Crimea. Kyiv had previously blocked the supply of water after the Crimean annexation, which was one of the factors that had led Putin to launch the invasion earlier this year.

Crimea will likely once again be cut off from fresh water.

“The loss of Kherson will turn all those southern dreams by the Kremlin into dust,” Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov told the Associated Press on Friday. “Kherson is a key to the entire southern region, which would allow Ukraine to target key supply routes for the Russian forces.”

Other experts have also suggested that the liberation of Kherson could be seen as a sign of Kremlin weakness around the world, especially to partners such as China and India.

Dealing With Collaborators

As they entered the city, Ukrainian military police began to go house to house to check documents to ensure that local collaborators, as well as Russian soldiers, didn’t remain behind, disguised as civilians. Those Ukrainians who collaborated with the occupiers were often given top jobs and even fancier titles.

Now they’re being hunted down, but the issue of how to treat those individuals will remain. There have also been concerns that areas that had large ethnic Russian populations could be singled out in the search for such collaborators.

Not surprisingly, some civilians are actually now fleeing with the Russians, while many others will have to answer for their decisions.

A Senior Editor for 19FortyFive, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer. He has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,000 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes and Clearance Jobs. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.


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Written By

Expert Biography: A Senior Editor for 1945, Peter Suciu is a Michigan-based writer who has contributed to more than four dozen magazines, newspapers, and websites with over 3,000 published pieces over a twenty-year career in journalism. He regularly writes about military hardware, firearms history, cybersecurity, and international affairs. Peter is also a Contributing Writer for Forbes. You can follow him on Twitter: @PeterSuciu.