Ukraine Latest: Zelenskiy Calls Kherson ‘Ours’ After Russia Exit

(Bloomberg) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Telegram that Kherson is “ours” after his forces entered the regional city in a dramatic setback for President Vladimir Putin.

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Kherson was part of the territory that Putin illegally annexed in September. He said then it would remain Russian forever.

One of the main challenges facing Ukraine’s military now is clearing roughly 170,000 square kilometers (66,000 square miles) of retaken territory of Russian munitions, with Moscow’s forces mining everything from power lines, fields, forests and buildings, Zelenskiy said in an earlier address.

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Key Developments

• Biden Aide Says Kherson Retreat ‘Extraordinary Victory’ for Kyiv

• Ukraine Leader Hails Kherson Return in Major Blow for Putin

• Kremlin Seeks to Distance Putin From Exit from Kherson

• Russia and US to Hold First Nuclear Talks Since Ukraine War

• Russia Blamed for ‘Dramatic’ Bomb Damage to Ukraine Atomic Lab

On the Ground

Ukrainian defense forces continued freeing territories in the direction of Kherson, the General Staff said on Facebook. Some Ukrainian unites reached the right bank of the Dnipro river. Russian forces delivered three missile strikes and nine aviation strikes attacking the Donetsk, Vinnytsya, Kherson and Mykolayiv regions. East of Ukraine remained the epicenter of the most fierce fighting. Russian forces continued offensives in the direction of Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Novopavlivka.

(All times CET)

Biden Aide Praises ‘Extraordinary Victory’ (3:20 a.m.)

Russia’s withdrawal from the Ukrainian city of Kherson is an “extraordinary victory” for Kyiv, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Saturday.

Sullivan added, however, he had not yet verified Russia’s claims that it had pulled its forces from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, abandoning the only regional capital captured in its invasion of Ukraine.

“But it does look as though the Russians have executed this withdrawal,” he told reporters aboard Air Force One as President Joe Biden headed to a summit in Cambodia. “And it does look as though the Ukrainians have just won an extraordinary victory.” Sullivan also dismissed calls for Zelenskiy to show openness to peace talks with Moscow, saying that Ukraine is “the party of peace” in the conflict and Russia is “the party of war.”

Zelenskiy Warns Russia Left Behind Mines, Explosives (8:35 p.m.)

Zelenskiy said in his daily statement that Russians withdrawing from Kherson “have left behind very large amount of mines and explosives, in particular at critical facilities.”

“It is obvious that Russia is not thinking about peace,” he said. “Another terrorist strike at Mykolayiv and demolition of a residential building is a clear proof that what Russia is worried about is not ways to reach peace, but ways to cause most painful harm. Not to start talks, but to launch a rocket or a drone at something in Ukraine, to make Ukrainians suffer.”

Zelenskiy Boasts of ‘Historic Day’ in Return of Kherson (6:50 p.m.)

“Today is a historic day,” Zelenskiy said in a video address, published on his Telegram channel on Friday. “We are returning the south of our country. We are returning Kherson.”

Ukrainian military intelligence confirmed earlier that the country’s troops were entering Kherson, which had been occupied by Russian troops since the first weeks of the war. A local official earlier said fully securing the city, whose pre-war population was more than 300,000, could take a week.

Photos and videos posted on social media showed people gathering on Kherson’s Freedom Square waving blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flags and cheering on a handful of servicemen in Ukrainian military fatigues.

Russian Bombing of US-Built Lab Worse Than Expected (6:45 p.m.)

Russian attacks on a US-designed atomic-physics lab in Ukraine’s second-largest city were worse than expected, according to international monitors who gained access to the facility this week.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday in a statement that damage to the Kharkiv Institute of Physics and Technology was “dramatic and shocking” although there was no release of radiation. The facility, which houses a neutron generator used for research, was built in collaboration with US Argonne National Laboratory outside Chicago.

“The sheer scale and intensity of the sustained targeting” violate “all the seven indispensable nuclear safety and security pillars,” IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said, adding that many of the lab’s facilities are probably damaged beyond repair.

Russian Bans Entry for 200 Americans (5:49 p.m.)

Russia added 200 names to its list of Americans banned from entering the country, including Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard, President Joe Biden’s siblings, as well as politicians and officials. The husbands of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are also on the list, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

EU, Partners Aid Ukraine’s Economy, Food Security (5:42 p.m.)

The European Commission, EBRD, the European Investment Bank and the World Bank will jointly provide 1 billion euros ($1 billion) for equipment, road upgrades and other projects that will help deliveries of Ukrainian goods as its main shipping channels are restricted by the war.

Scholz Pledges Zelenskiy German Support for Energy Infrastructure (5:13 p.m.)

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany would prioritize support for Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and air defense in a phone conversation with Ukrainian President Zelenskiy.

“The chancellor and the Ukrainian president condemned Russian forces’ continued targeting of civilian infrastructure in Ukraine and discussed concrete measures to reinforce Ukraine’s energy infrastructure,” Scholz’s chief spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said in a statement. The two called for an extension of the grain deal guaranteeing Ukrainian exports.

Hungary Rejects German Criticism Over Joint EU Aid for Ukraine (5:04 p.m.)

Hungary rejects a proposal for joint European Union financial aid for Ukraine as a matter of principle, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said following German criticism that Budapest is using the stance for leverage.

Ukraine Reports Prisoner Exchange With Russia (2:26 p.m.)

A group of 45 soldiers and officers returned to Ukraine in another exchange of prisoners with Russia, Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskiy’s office, said on Telegram.

So far 1,183 Ukrainians, including civilians, were released in prisoner swaps with Russia since the beginning of the war, officials in Ukraine said.

Russia Budget Surplus Grows on Windfall Tax on Gazprom (2:20 p.m.)

Russia managed to keep its federal budget in surplus in October despite rising spending for the war in Ukraine as a windfall tax on state gas company Gazprom PJSC delivered billions of rubles to state coffers.

The budget surplus reached 128.4 billion rubles ($2.1 billion) in the first 10 months of the year, the Finance Ministry said in a statement. That’s more than double the 54.7 billion rubles reported a month earlier.

Ukraine Says Kherson Liberation Is in Final Stages (12:45 p.m.)

Ukrainian forces are close to fully liberating the right bank of the in the Kherson region, including the city of Kherson, the deputy head of the region’s council, Serhii Khlan, said said in a video briefing.

Taking control of the area will allow Ukrainian artillery to hit targets in Russian-occupied territory along the opposite bank of the Dnipro and as far as the border with Crimea, he said. Social media accounts showed Ukrainian flags flying over buildings in Kherson on Friday.

Many Russian troops failed to cross the river, remaining on the right bank and changing in to civilian clothes, Khlan said. An official announcement about the liberation of the regional capital will only be made after Ukrainian troops fully secure it, a process that may take as long as a week from when they enter it, he said.

Russian Attacks Haven’t Accelerated Ukraine Exodus (12:24 p.m.)

Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian power infrastructure didn’t increase the number of people who left Ukraine in October from the previous month, and the rate actually fell, Ukraine’s State Border Service said.

The number of people who left Ukraine by crossing its western borders declined to 1.41 million last month, from 1.47 million in September, State Border Service spokesman Andriy Demchenko said by phone. About the same number of people -- 1.4 million -- entered Ukraine in October, he said.

The data suggests that Russia’s campaign of missile and artillery attacks against Ukrainian energy and other crucial infrastructure, has failed to trigger a bigger exodus despite the threat of power blackouts for millions of households. Ukrainian authorities say about 40% of its power facilities have been damaged in attacks and will take weeks to repair.

Russia Says Retreat From Kherson City, Surroundings Complete: Tass (11:20 a.m.)

Russia has removed its troops and military equipment from the city of Kherson and the surrounding areas on the west bank of the Dnipro River, completing a major retreat, the Defense Ministry said, according to the Tass newswire.

Russia announced plans for pulling out of the area on Wednesday after months of pressure from Ukrainian troops had cut off the garrison there from vital supplies and support. The pullout from Kherson, the only regional capital Russia took since the Feb. 24 invasion, is a highly symbolic setback for the Kremlin.

Ukrainian officials haven’t confirmed the retreat is complete, however, and warned that some Russian forces may remain in and around Kherson.

EU Probes Claims That Russia Is Getting Missiles From Iran (11:16 a.m.)

The EU is investigating claims that Iran is transferring ballistic missiles to Russia to aid its war in Ukraine, a senior EU official said, adding the bloc is deeply concerned about Tehran’s military support for Moscow and would impose serious sanctions if the reports proved accurate.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has repeatedly stressed to Iran that its military support for Russia is unacceptable, the official said. The bloc has already imposed sanctions on Iran over its transfers of drones to Russia, which have been used in Ukraine to conduct widespread attacks.

Iran’s military support for Russia will be discussed by the bloc’s foreign ministers when they meet in Brussels on Monday, the official said. They’ll also discuss Russia’s announced withdrawal of troops from the city of Kherson, the official said adding that the EU, like Ukraine, is prudent on the claims but added it was obvious that Putin was losing his war.

Kremlin Seeks to Distance Putin From Kherson Exit (10:51 a.m.)

Russia’s decision to pull its forces from the city of Kherson came from the defense minister, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, in his first public comments on the withdrawal from the only regional capital.

President Vladimir Putin hasn’t publicly commented on the retreat, which Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and General Sergei Surovikin, the commander of the operation in Ukraine, announced in televised comments Wednesday.

Kherson was part of the territory that Putin illegally annexed in September. He then said it would remain Russian forever.

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