Ukraine Russia news – live: Kherson residents ‘feel free’ as they celebrate Putin’s troops withdrawal

Kherson residents have been celebrating in the streets after Russian troops retreated from their city.

Locals told CNN they “felt free” and it was “amazing” to see their hometown liberated after months under Russian control.

Ukrainians across the country have also been celebrating after Russian troops left the only regional capital they had captured in the eight months of the invasion of Ukraine.

The UK defence secretary said the retreat was “another strategic failure” for Vladimir Putin, while the defence ministry said it brought “significant reputational damage”.

The withdrawal marked the third major Russian retreat in the war and the first to involve yielding such a large occupied city in the face of a major Ukrainian counter-offensive that has retaken parts of the east and south.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said Friday, when the retreat was completed, was “a historic day”. He said: “We are getting the south of the country back, we are getting Kherson back.”

Key points

• ‘We feel free,’ celebrating Kherson residents say

• Kherson retreat ‘strategic failure’ for Russia, UK defence secretary says

• Putin quiet over Kherson retreat

• Zelensky says ‘historic day’ as troops reclaim Kherson

• ‘Glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes’: Jubilant residents welcome troops

Police and news broadcasters return to Kherson

14:49 , Zoe Tidman

Authorities say Ukrainian police officers and broadcasts are returning to the southern city of Kherson following the withdrawal of Russian troops after more than eight months of occupation.

The chief of the National Police of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, said in a Facebook post on Saturday that some 200 officers were at work in the city, setting up checkpoints and documenting evidence of possible war crimes.

Police teams also were working to identify and neutralise unexploded ordnance, and one sapper was injured on Saturday while de-mining an administrative building, Mr Klymenko said.

Ukraine‘s communications watchdog said national TV and radio broadcasts had resumed in the city, and an adviser to Kherson’s mayor said humanitarian aid and supplies had begun to arrive from the neighbouring Mykolaiv region.

Speaking on Ukrainian TV, the adviser, Roman Holovnya, described the situation in the city as “a humanitarian catastrophe”.

He said the remaining residents lacked water, medicine, and food.

AP

Russian troops fortifying battles lines after retreat, Ukraine says

14:28 , Zoe Tidman

The General Staff of Ukraine‘s armed forces says Russian troops were fortifying their battle lines on the river’s eastern bank after abandoning the capital.

About 70% of the Kherson region remains under Russian control.

Celebrations continue over Kherson retreat

14:13 , Zoe Tidman

Celebrations are continuing today after Russian troops retreated from Kherson in the south.

Here are some images:

‘We feel free,’ Kherson residents say

13:53 , Zoe Tidman

Kherson residents are celebrating after Russian troops left the city.

Here are some talking to CNN today:

Ukrainians return home to wreckage and tragedy in Mykolaiv

13:02 , Zoe Tidman

Our international correspondent Bel Trew has met Ukrainians in the liberated Mykolaiv region as they return home to wreckage and tragedy done by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

‘I am old, I don’t have much of my life left. How can I rebuild it all now?’ one person asks.

Read her moving report here:

‘How can we rebuild?’: Ukrainians return home to wreckage after Russians retreat

Kherson bridge damage

12:48 , Zoe Tidman

Satellite images have revealed the scale of the damage done to a key bridge in Kherson.

Watch here:

‘Panic’ in Russian ranks, Ukraine defence ministry adviser claims

12:23 , Zoe Tidman

An adviser to the Ukrainian defence minister has said there is “panic” in Russian ranks, but cautioned the war is “far from over”.

Yuriy Sak told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We always believed that we will liberate Kherson.

“And we are confident that now Russians are beginning to believe that they will never be able to win this war.

“We see the panic in their ranks. We see the panic in their propaganda machine.

“But of course, this is a very important moment, but it is too early to relax... because this war is far from over.”

He added: “At the moment we are quietly optimistic. We are beginning to carry out stabilisation measures in Kherson but of course we understand that there are future battles which we will have to win.”

PA

Full story: Kherson retreat 'brings reputational damage’ to Russia

12:09 , Zoe Tidman

Russia’s withdrawal from a regional capital in the south of Ukraine brings “significant reputational damage”, British defence experts have said.

Read more:

UK claims Kherson exit brings ‘significant reputational damage’ to Russia

Kherson retreat ‘strategic failure’ for Russia, UK defence secretary says

11:47 , Zoe Tidman

The UK’s defence secretary has said Russia’s retreat from Kherson marked “another strategic failure” for Moscow.

“In February, Russia failed to take any of its major objectives except Kherson,” Ben Wallace said in a statement.

“Now with that also being surrendered, ordinary people of Russia must surely ask themselves: ‘What was it all for?’

“The Russian army has suffered a huge loss of life as a result of their illegal invasion and have only achieved international isolationism and humiliation. Ukraine will press on.”

The defence secretary said the retreat was welcome, but no one would “underestimate” Russia’s continuing threat.

Biden thanks Cambodia PM for Ukraine remarks

11:21 , Zoe Tidman

Joe Biden hasy thanked Cambodia’s prime minister and chair of the a regional bloc for his critical remarks about the war in Ukraine, and said he was looking forward to democracy returning to army-ruled Myanmar.

Biden made the remarks ahead of a meeting with Hun Sen, Cambodia’s long-serving leader and this year’s head of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bloc.

Reuters

Peace deal must not be ‘win’ for Russia, former Ukrainian minister says

11:04 , Zoe Tidman

A former Ukrainian defence minister was interviewed on BBC’s Newsnight last night.

Andriy Zagorodnyuk said any peace deal should not amount to a “win” for Russia. ”We need them to lose,” he said.

Watch here:

What could happen next in Ukraine?

10:47 , Zoe Tidman

Russia has been dealt a blow with the retreat of Kherson, which came nearly nine months into its invasion of Ukraine.

My colleages Thomas Kingsley and Joe Sommerlad take a look at why the war started and what could happen next:

Why did Russia invade Ukraine and what could happen next?

Turkey committed to peace talks, president reportedly says

10:30 , Zoe Tidman

Turkey is committed to seeking a peace dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, President Tayyip Erdogan is reported as saying in Turkish media.

“We are working on how to create a peace corridor here, like we had the grain corridor,” he was quoted as telling reporters on a flight from Uzbekistan, while praising Russia’s resistance to pressure from the US and its allies.

Reuters

Why is Kherson strategically important?

10:17 , Zoe Tidman

As Ukraine celebrates the Russian retreat from Kherson, here is a look at why the city is so important for both sides:

EXPLAINER: How important is a Russian retreat from Kherson?

Putin spokesperson says Kherson retreat decision was defence ministry

09:59 , Zoe Tidman

Here’s a reminder of what Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson has told reporters about the retreat from Kherson.

Dmitry Peskov said the decision was taken by the defence ministry.

Asked by reporters if it was humiliating for the president, said: “No.”

Putin quiet over Kherson retreat

09:38 , Zoe Tidman

Vladimir Putin has been pretty quiet over the decision to retreat from Kherson.

Russia has announced the withdrawal is now complete, as my colleage Maryam Zakir-Hussainreported on Friday:

Russia’s retreat from Kherson is complete, Moscow claims

There have been no big speeches from Russia’s president so far on the matter, with the defence ministry leading announcements.

Celebrations in Kyiv

09:21 , Zoe Tidman

Here are some more images from Ukrainians celebrating the Russian retreat from Kherson in Kyiv last night:

Ukraine thanks Australian PM ‘for standing firmly’ with country

08:48 , Zoe Tidman

He has also met with the Australian prime minister.

“I thanked him for standing firmly with Ukraine as we defend ourselves from Russian aggression,” Ukraine’s foreign minister tweeted this morning:

Ukraine and Indian foreign ministers meet

08:25 , Zoe Tidman

Ukraine’s foreign minister has met with his Indian counterpart to discuss the war:

Russian losses now over 80,000, Ukraine claims

07:57 , Zoe Tidman

The number of Russian troops killed in the war has now topped 80,000, Ukraine’s army has claimed:

UK intelligence update on Kherson

07:38 , Zoe Tidman

Here’s the latest UK intelligence update on Ukraine.

Key points:

• Russia likely destroyed bridges and roads during retreat from Kherson

• Its troops had likely been retreating for weeks, despite officially announcing withdrawal just days ago

• Kherson retreat “brings significant reputational damage”

Johnson predicts ‘Putin will lose’ Ukraine war

07:20 , Namita Singh

Predicting that Vladimir Putin will “deservedly” lose the war in Ukraine, former UK prime minister Boris Johnson said that the war will also “severely weaken Russia” while strengthening China.

“We don’t think we need to worry about how Putin will manage his defeat. He is after all master of propaganda,” he added while speaking the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit at the Indian capital of Delhi.

The former PM also pledged his support for Ukraine, as he called Mr Putin a “punk” of China’s president. “Only one leader Putin cared to consult and was given green light at Beijing olympics.. He is the punk of Xi Jinping.”

Mr Johnson also pledged his continued support for the war-torn country saying: “I’m going to continue to push for the things I believe in - supporting the people of Ukraine, helping them defend against the invasion.”

'Putin believes Ukraine is not a real country', Boris Johnson says during India media summit

07:10 , Namita Singh

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson said that Russian president Vladimir Putin does not believe Ukraine is a real country.

“You want to know why Putin invaded Ukraine? Read his essay of July last year. He basically believes that Ukraine is not a real country,” he said during a media summit in India today.

“People think that Ukraine’s was going to join Nato and Putin had reasons to think he was being militarily encircled. It’s nonsense. Absolute hogwash,” Mr Johnson said while speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi.

“The reason Putin invaded Ukraine is because he is a 70-year-old autocrat, who thought that he can make Russia great again and avenge the insults of the Cold War,” he added.

“[Putin] thought that when his tanks rolled into Ukraine, they will be garlanded with roses by a grateful Ukrainian population. He was so deluded”.

Guard admits spying for Russia while working at British embassy in Berlin

07:00 , Namita Singh

A disgruntled security guard has admitted spying for Russia while working at the British embassy in Berlin.

Briton David Ballantyne Smith, 58, is said to have been driven by an intense hatred for his own country and wanted to live in Russia or Ukraine at the time he passed on secret intelligence from May 2020.

Despite living beyond his means, €800 in cash was found at his home in Potsdam in Germany when he was arrested in August last year.

Report:

Guard admits spying for Russia while working at British embassy in Berlin

Scenes of jubilation as Ukraine army enter Kherson city hours after Russian withdrawal

06:45 , Namita Singh

Jubilant residents planted flags and welcomed Ukrainian soldiers into the centre of Kherson on Friday after the withdrawal of Russian forces, marking a major strategic victory for Kyiv over Moscow.

“Today is a historic day,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening video address. “We are getting the south of the country back, we are getting Kherson back.”

Cheering citizens chanted victory slogans in the southern city’s central square, where the apparent first Ukrainian troops to arrive snapped selfies in the throng.

Our international correspondent Bel Trew reports from Kobzartsi, Mykolaiv:

Scenes of jubilation as Ukraine troops enter Kherson hours after Russian withdrawal

G20 ‘family photo’ scrapped as leaders shun Russia

06:30 , Namita Singh

Plans for a “family photo” of world leaders at the G20 summit in Indonesia next week have been scrapped because presidents and prime ministers were unwilling to stand alongside an envoy of Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

For the first time at a gathering of the world’s 20 biggest economies, there will be no picture of the attendees lined up in rows and smiling for the cameras.

The Kremlin announced on Thursday that Mr Putin will not be present for the two-day summit in beach resort Bali, with the Russian delegation led instead by his foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

Our political editor Andrew Woodcock reports:

G20 ‘family photo’ scrapped because leaders don’t want to be pictured with Russians

What US election results mean for the future of Ukraine aid

06:15 , Namita Singh

If Republicans win the House, where does that leave Ukraine?

It’s a question that is top of mind in Washington as the GOP draws closer to winning the majority in the US House. Some fear the end of Democratic control in Congress — and the empowerment of “America First” conservatives — could ultimately result in the curtailment of American assistance as Ukraine battles Russia’s invasion.

Recent comments from Kevin McCarthy, who is in line for speaker if Republicans win the House, exacerbated those fears. He warned that Republicans wouldn’t support writing a “blank check” for Ukraine if they captured the majority.

Read the details here:

What US election results mean for the future of Ukraine aid

Sunak ‘set to cut defence spending in real terms’ amid Ukraine war

06:00 , Namita Singh

Rishi Sunak is said to be preparing to cut defence spending in real terms as planned budget hikes are dwarfed by soaring inflation.

The allowance for all departments, including the Ministry of Defence (MoD), will rise in line with the 2021 spending review, representing a cash boost, according to reports.

But it has been suggested this will be devalued by inflation, which is currently at 10 per cent.

The chancellor has warned of a “tough road ahead” for the UK, with GDP contracting by 0.2 per cent.

Jeremy Hunt said yesterday he will be working to make a possible recession “shallower and quicker” in his highly anticipated autumn budget, which he will unveil on Thursday.

Sticking with the 2021 spending review would see the MoD budget increase in cash terms from £47.9bn this year to £48 billion in 2023 and then £48.6bn in 2024.

General Lord Richard Dannatt, the former head of the army, told The Telegraph a real terms cut would seem “incredible” given the situation in Ukraine.

“The government has to cut public expenditure in order to balance the books as it is reluctant to raise taxes, but it does seem incredible that with a land war in Europe it feels it can cut the defence budget,” he said.

“Given that we have had 2.5 per cent and 3 per cent waved under defence planners’ noses, now to be cutting it to 2 per cent or under, it makes you wonder how on earth you can plan anything sensible for the future.”

Ballet dancers who fled Russia reunited on California stage

05:45 , Namita Singh

Xander Parish is a British-born ballet dancer who was a principal artist at the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg, Russia.

Then, in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine. Within a month, Parish had left. Other international dancers based in Russia also fled, leaving behind their lives, jobs and belongings.

Now, for one night, the dancers from the Mariinsky, the Bolshoi, and other elite Russian companies are reuniting with a performance today in Costa Mesa, California.

“Each of us here in this group has an absolutely unique story, but tied together by a thread through this shared experience of leaving Russia and having had what we loved there... but now coming back together. It’s like a full circle,” Mr Parish told Reuters.

American Adrian Blake Mitchell and his Slovakian girlfriend Andrea Lassakova, both formerly dancers with the Mikhailovsky Ballet, also fled Moscow shortly after the invasion. Mitchell said they found themselves in “extremely uncomfortable and worrisome circumstances.” He declined to elaborate.

The shared experiences of the artists will be tangible when they dance together, Mr Mitchell said.

“The group of dancers, it’s just so special, you know. Not a lot of projects have been done like this under these circumstances so that brings such a new layer to it and makes it so much more emotional and so much more meaningful and impactful,” he said.

Russia-Ukraine war derails Hockey World Cup plans for 2024

05:30 , Namita Singh

Russia’s war in Ukraine has derailed plans to hold a World Cup of Hockey this winter.

The NHL and NHL Players’ Association yesterday abandoned plans to stage a World Cup in February 2024 as they had hoped, saying in a joint statement “it is not feasible” in the current environment.

There is uncertainty about what to do with players from Russia since the country’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year and the ongoing war there.

Some countries did not want Russians to participate, even if under a different name and without national team uniforms as was done at recent Olympics as a punishment for state-sponsored doping.

“Disappointment or not, you want peace in the world,” Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning said. “That’s the bottom line.”

Players want the best in the world to take part — a group that would include a number of Russians — and that created an impasse with time running out to pull a World Cup together.

“The conflict in the Ukraine makes it difficult to deal with the Russian issue, and we’ve certainly heard from some of the participating countries or countries who would participate would have objections to Russian participation in the World Cup,” Deputy commissioner Bill Daly said last month.

“Obviously (it is) something that’s relevant and we’d take into consideration in connection with making decisions.”The league and union said they hope to stage the event in February 2025 and will continue to plan for that. The delay buys the league and players time to figure things out.

Residents accuse Russian forces of looting

05:15 , Namita Singh

Villagers recounted life under occupation, saying about 100 Russians had held Blahodatne for eight months.

The Russians had killed a man who had approached too close to their trenches and taken away two other men and a young woman whose fate remained unknown, the villagers said.

“For the first two months they came in and were extremely aggressive,” said villager Kalko, adding that Russian soldiers fired in the air as they walked down the streets.

The Russian troops had also broken into vacant homes and looted them, removing furniture, televisions, stoves and refrigerators, the villagers said.

‘Russia must approach negotiations in good faith’, demands Ukraine foreign minister

05:00 , Namita Singh

Ukraine’s foreign minister has demanded that Russia must approach negotiations in good faith. “It’s as simple as that,” said Dmytro Kuleba.

Claiming that Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov has not asked for a meeting, Mr Kuleba called on the Asean member to take measures possible to stop Moscow play hunger games with world.

Withdrawal across Dnipro ‘painful but necessary’

04:45 , Namita Singh

Dmitry Rogozin, a senior Russian official giving military advice to two occupied regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims as its own, said yesterday that the withdrawal across the Dnipro was painful but necessary. He suggested that Moscow could regroup and launch another offensive, according to the RIA news agency.

“We must carry out this task, hoping that when we gather our strength, when new weapons arrive, when well-trained mobilised units arrive, when volunteers arrive, we will rally and take back this land,” the agency cited him as saying.

A number of Russian soldiers had drowned in the Dnipro river trying to escape and others had changed into civilian clothing, a Kherson official said, advising residents not to leave their homes while searches for remaining Russian troops took place.

Earlier, the Russian defence ministry said it had finished its withdrawal from the western bank of the Dnipro river, where Kherson city lies, two days after Moscow announced the retreat.

No military equipment or weapons had been left on the western bank, the ministry said. All servicemen crossed to the eastern bank, it said.

Pro-Russian war bloggers had reported late on Thursday that Russian forces crossing the river were coming under heavy fire from Ukrainian forces. The Russian ministry said Ukrainian forces had struck Dnipro crossings five times overnight with US-supplied Himars rocket systems.

Measures to make Kherson safe to start soon, says Zelensky

04:30 , Namita Singh

President Volodymyr Zelensky said measures to make Kherson safe – in particular removal of what he called a large number of landmines – would start as soon as possible.

As Ukrainian forces surged forward during one of the most humiliating Russian retreats of the war, villagers came out of hiding and, amid tears of relief and joy, described how Russian troops had killed residents and looted homes.

Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military’s southern command, said “saboteur operations cannot be ruled out” by Russian troops in civilian clothes.

Earlier, the Russian defence ministry said it had finished its withdrawal from the western bank of the Dnipro river, where Kherson city lies, two days after Moscow announced the retreat.

No military equipment or weapons had been left on the western bank, the ministry said. All servicemen crossed to the eastern bank, it said.

‘Glory to Ukraine, glory to the heroes’: Jubilant residents welcome troops

04:10 , Namita Singh

Jubilant residents welcomed Ukrainian troops arriving in the centre of Kherson yesterday after Russia abandoned the only regional capital it had captured since its invasion began in February.

Video footage verified by Reuters showed dozens of people cheering and chanting victory slogans in Kherson city’s central square, where the apparent first Ukrainian troops to arrive snapped selfies in the throng.

Two men hoisted a female soldier on their shoulders and tossed her into the air. Some residents wrapped themselves in Ukrainian flags. One man was weeping with joy.

Locals had placed Ukrainian flags in the square as news of the end of more than eight months of occupation filtered out.

“Glory to Ukraine! Glory to the Heroes! Glory to the Nation!” one man shouted in another video verified by Reuters.

Zelensky says ‘historic day’ as troops reclaim Kherson

03:52 , Namita Singh

President Volodymyr Zelesky hailed the Ukrainian troops in a video address to the nation, as they reclaimed Kherson from Russia.

“Today is a historic day. We are getting the south of the country back, we are getting Kherson back,” the Ukrainian president said in an evening video address.

“As of now, our defenders are on the outskirts of the city, and we are very close to entering. But special units are already in the city,” he said.

Russia said it had withdrawn 30,000 troops across the Dnipro River without losing a single soldier. But Ukrainians painted a picture of a chaotic retreat, with Russian troops ditching their uniforms, dropping weapons and drowning while trying to flee.

The withdrawal marked the third major Russian retreat of the war and the first to involve yielding such a large occupied city in the face of a major Ukrainian counter-offensive that has retaken parts of the east and south.

03:32 , Namita Singh

Welcome to The Independent’s blog on the Russia-Ukraine conflict for Saturday, 12 November 2022 where we provide the latest developments in the wartorn country.