WATCH: Ukrainian Forces Have Begun Reclaiming Towns In Kherson Oblast – Following a staged television announcement in Russia that announced the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson city – a move that Kyiv remains skeptical over – local reports reveal that Ukrainian forces have now begun reclaiming towns across the front lines in Kherson Oblast.
While the news doesn’t change the fact that Kyiv is concerned Russia may be trying to lull Ukrainian forces into a false sense of security in the city of Kherson, it does show that Ukrainian troops on the ground are confident in their ability to regain ground in the so-called “annexed” territory.
Photographs and videos of Ukrainian soldiers emerged on social media on Thursday, showing relieved civilians expressing gratitude.
In one video, two Ukrainian soldiers can be seen hugging local people in a Kherson Oblast town. The clip was shared by Macer Gifford, a British human rights activist who is serving as a volunteer fighter with Ukraine’s 131st Recon Battalion.
“Here’s a short clip of liberated Ukrainians seeing us for the first time. We had this all day yesterday and the day before! Like the hundreds of people we met, we also were almost overcome with emotion and tiredness. We pushed hard and fast. This is the result, happy faces,” Gifford wrote.
Here’s a short clip of liberated Ukrainians seeing us for the first time.
We had this all day yesterday and the day before! ?
Like the hundreds of people we met, we also were almost overcome with emotion and tiredness. We pushed hard and fast. This is the result, happy faces ♥️ pic.twitter.com/V9BincVLJ2— Macer Gifford (@macergifford) November 10, 2022
Another video shared by Wall Street Journal foreign affairs correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov showed a soldier filming himself meeting with local people, hugging them in the street, and sitting in a car filled with flowers given to him and other soldiers by grateful residents.
There will be many such videos of jubilation from liberated villages of Kherson and Mykolaiv regions in the next few days. This one is from Pavlivka, also from local social media. pic.twitter.com/qt5bEGnYVV
— Yaroslav Trofimov (@yarotrof) November 10, 2022
Trofimov predicted that more videos like this will appear online in the coming days as Ukrainian soldiers continue to reclaim territory in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
Another video, this time from Bruskinske, showed older local women thanking a group of armed Ukrainian soldiers.
Popular Twitter war tracker account Def Mon also shared a map showing at least 10 settlements that have been retaken by Ukrainian forces as of Thursday.
“I have 10 settlements I consider being confirmed as liberated today. This is moving pretty fast. It appears we are about 12-24 hours behind actual events based on rumors yesterday,” the account notes, adding a list of photographs and videos that have been geolocated to determine which territories have been successfully liberated.
According to the account, Yevhenivka, Kyselivka, Novokairy, Pavlivka, Stanislav, Snihurivka, Bruskyns’ke, Tamaryne, P’yatykhatky, Kuchers’ke, Myrolyubivka, Chkalove, and Kacharivka have all been liberated as of Thursday afternoon.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
