Ukrainian Forces Enter Kherson as Russia Completes Retreat; How Russia's Humiliating Defeat In Kherson Came To Be; Ukrainians Greet Troops in Kherson After Russian Retreat: ‘Today is a historic day’; Ukrainians Fly EU Flag In Kherson To Celebrate Russian Retreat, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

Serhii Korovayny for The Wall Street Journal

Ukrainian Forces Enter Kherson as Russia Completes Retreat:

Ukraine’s forces swept into the key southern city of Kherson on Friday, after Russian troops completed their withdrawal from the regional capital in one of the largest strategic and symbolic defeats for the Kremlin since it launched its invasion.

Cheering Ukrainians welcomed the arriving troops and raised their national flag in a public square in the center of Kherson, the only regional capital that Russia had seized since February, according to videos posted online by Ukrainian officials. A crowd of jubilant residents hoisted Ukrainian soldiers on their shoulders. Residents also raised a European Union flag, a sign of many Ukrainians’ longstanding aspirations to forge closer ties with the bloc.

“Glory to heroes. Death to enemies. Ukraine above all!” shouted the crowd.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Ukrainian forces entering Kherson on Friday were special military units and that more would follow, saying that the occupying Russian forces had left explosives rigged to key infrastructure and that demining would be an early priority.

Mr. Zelensky also warned Russian soldiers and Ukrainian collaborators left behind in Kherson and other cities in the south to surrender. “We guarantee that you will be treated in accordance with the law and international standards,” he said. “And to those Russian soldiers who have put on civilian clothes and are hiding somewhere, I want to say that there is no point in hiding. We’ll find you anyway. Don’t drag it out.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said Friday that it had completed the transfer of troops to the east bank of the Dnipro River, which is adjacent to the city. It couldn’t immediately be determined whether any Russian soldiers remained on the western bank.

Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson marks a severe military setback for President Vladimir Putin, who claimed to have absorbed the region around the city into Russia’s own territory in September. A strategic port city on the Black Sea, Kherson was also central to Russia’s attempts to capture Ukraine’s vital economic centers early in the war. --->READ MORE HERE

Dmytro Smolienko / Ukrinform via Getty Images

How Russia's humiliating defeat in Kherson came to be:

The Russian defeat in Kherson Oblast was almost inevitable — but it happened sooner than many expected.

The Nov. 9 announcement on Russia’s “uneasy decision” to leave Kherson, voiced by General Sergei Surovikin, has drawn the line under a months-long Ukrainian effort to undermine the Russian presence on Dnipro’s west bank.

Ukraine’s military accomplished its most important mission before the coming of wintertime and forced Russia out of the only regional center it managed to seize after Feb. 24.

The loss of Kherson means Russia’s chances to seize Mykolaiv and Odesa were killed. A humiliating defeat for the Kremlin, which a month back claimed sovereignty over Kherson and the region.

The Battle of Kherson is the most far-reaching Ukrainian success since the Battle of Kyiv. It is also the heaviest blow to Russian pride, morale, and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s leadership throughout the war.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast launched in late August did not look too promising for some time. The Ukrainian leadership loudly advertised it as having the potential to break the stalemate and reverse the course of the war.

The Ukrainian offensive followed a months-long campaign to target Russian command and control units, logistics and maintenance centers, munitions depots, ground lines of communications, and most importantly — the Dnipro River crossings. --->READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++Ukrainians greet troops in Kherson after Russian retreat: ‘Today is a historic day’+++++

+++++Ukrainians Fly EU Flag In Kherson To Celebrate Russian Retreat+++++

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