Liberation of Kherson

After the 24 February invasion of Ukraine, Russian forces surrounded the city of Kherson in late February, and occupied it on 2 March 2022, after heavy fighting the previous week. In September 2022, Russia announced the annexation of the oblast along with three others, in a widely condemned move. On 9 November, Russian general Sergey Surovikin announced the withdrawal of troops from Kherson and the right bank of the Dnieper. He claimed that the reasoning for this decision was that Kherson and nearby settlements were not able to be properly supplied and that civilians were in danger from Ukrainian shelling. ==Withdrawal and liberation==

Ukrainian Armed Forces advancing On 10 November, a video emerged appearing to show the Ukrainian flag flying in Snihurivka. Ukrainian forces had also regained control of the village of Kyselivka, fifteen kilometers northwest of Kherson. On the same day, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi stated that Ukrainian forces had taken back 41 settlements near Kherson since 1 October. Ukrainian officials estimated that half of the Russian soldiers had been withdrawn across the Dnipro by the evening of 10 November. Later that day, Ukrainian forces liberated Kherson and the rest of the right bank of Kherson Oblast. There were some fears that Russian forces might have laid a trap, therefore the ZSU advanced with some caution. As the ZSU moved into the city, no ambushes of any sort appeared to have been prepared, with some observers describing the disorderly retreat as a "rout". On Freedom Square (), civilians were seen chanting "Glory to the ZSU [Ukraine's armed forces]", hugging soldiers, singing songs and waving Ukrainian flags. Following liberation, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it a "historic day". ==Aftermath==

Military and political impact , participating in reraising the Ukrainian flag while visiting liberated Kherson, on 14 November 2022 By withdrawing, Russian forces ceded control of about 40% of Kherson Oblast to Ukraine. On 12 November, the occupying forces declared Henichesk, a port city on the Sea of Azov, to be the "temporary administrative capital of the Kherson region". During the withdrawal, Russian soldiers took the bones of the 18th century Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin, who was considered the modern founder of the city, from Kherson's St. Catherine's Cathedral. Initially, most of the city's inhabitants were euphoric, celebrating the Russian withdrawal in public, and welcoming the Ukrainian forces as liberators, while others were worried about the time ahead. Military analysts stated that there was a danger of Russian artillery shelling Kherson from the eastern bank of the Dnipro. The NOS described the situation on the ground as "a sort of unspoken ceasefire. That both belligerents have taken a kind of break, and are not extensively shooting at each other." Aleksandr Dugin, the ideologue of Russian nationalism and Eurasianism, openly criticized Vladimir Putin for failing to defend "Russian cities" such as Kherson. In December 2023, a declassified American intelligence assessment found with "high confidence" that Russian military officials proposed delaying the withdrawal from Kherson until after the 2022 United States elections "to avoid giving a named US political party a perceived win before the election." Damage to infrastructure and logistics Satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed that major damage to infrastructure had been done during the withdrawal from Kherson, including the destruction of at least seven bridges, four of them across the river Dnipro, within 24 hours. President Zelenskyy said on 12 November: "Before fleeing from Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all the critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity." Kherson TV Tower, and other energy infrastructure facilities were blown up. The occupied Kherson region is home to part of the North Crimean Canal, which, prior to Russia's annexation of Crimea, provided 85% of Crimea's drinking and agriculture water. Ukraine shut down the canal in 2014 soon after Russia annexed Crimea. Russia restored the flow of water in March 2022. Regaining control of Kherson means Ukraine could once again cut off water to Crimea. Damage to cultural heritage Before retreating from the city, Russian forces looted its main museums: the Local History Museum and the Art Museum. Their items were transported to Crimean museums. In addition, Russian army took away monuments to Alexander Suvorov, Fyodor Ushakov, Vasily Margelov, Grigory Potemkin and remains of the latter. Demographics Changes during occupation Before the war, Kherson had some 300,000 inhabitants, but by the end of the Russian occupation, only about 80,000 were left. Many civilians had fled, while some were killed during the Russian occupation. After Ukraine retook the city, some 25 people had died due to exploding mines and munitions by 19 November. Post-occupation voluntary evacuations Yaroslav Yanushevych, the new Ukrainian governor of Kherson Oblast since August 2022, stated on 18 November: "[Evacuating residents] depends on whether there will be electricity. The president has said very clearly that we should throw all our resources into restoring the electricity supply". Kherson district head Mykhailo Lynetskiy said there were no plans yet to evacuate the city's residents, but that there was a major risk the electricity and water repairs could not be completed in the short term, and inhabitants would be better off trying to find winter accommodation elsewhere in the country: "As a Kherson city native, I categorically advise people to leave the city for safer places for the duration of the winter period." Demining operations Governor of Mykolaiv Oblast Vitalii Kim warned that there were still "a lot of mines in the liberated territories and settlements", and: "Don't go there for no reason. There are casualties." ==Reactions==

In response to the withdrawal of its military forces from the city, the Russian government reiterated its claim that Kherson Oblast remains a federal subject of Russia. The withdrawal was praised amongst NATO members, with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan characterizing it as "positive and important" and that he would continue diplomacy with Russia. In the lead up to Russian troops' departure, Secretary General of NATO Jens Stoltenberg reiterated the group's support for Ukraine and that the withdrawal would "be another victory for Ukraine." Commenting on the withdrawal during a press conference, US President Joe Biden said that the decision to withdraw shows that Russia's military has "real problems." ==See also==