Kyiv [Ukraine], November 12 (ANI): As the Russian withdrawal from the city of Kherson was completed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said that the country is taking back the key city.
“Our people. Ours. Kherson. Today is a historic day. We are taking back Kherson,” DW news agency quoted what Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

He informed that special units of the armed forces are inside Kherson and other Ukrainian troops were also approaching the city from the outskirts. “The people of Kherson have been waiting. They never gave up on Ukraine. It will be the same in the cities still waiting for us to take them back,” Zelenskyy added later in a video address quoted by DW news agency.

Earlier on Friday, Zelensky had expressed gratitude to US counterpart Joe Biden for announcing military assistance. His statement came after the US announced military assistance worth USD 400 million for Ukraine. Taking to his Twitter handle, Zelenskyy thanked US President Joe Biden and the people of the US for once again “showing solidarity” for Ukraine. He stated that the assistance package includes Avenger air defence systems and missiles for Hawk air defence systems.

Zelenskyy tweeted, “Thank you @POTUS & friendly US people for showing solidarity once again – an aid package including Avenger air defence systems & missiles for Hawk air defence systems. Together we’re building an air shield to protect Ukrainian civilians. We’re bringing victory over the aggressor closer!” Notably, the US has been providing military assistance to Ukraine ever since Russia began its offensive.

On November 10, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a press release announced authorizing military aid for Ukraine. He stated that the latest military assistance worth USD 400 million is the 25th drawdown of US arms and equipment for Ukraine since 2021.

Blinken noted that the drawdown would take the total US military assistance for Ukraine to approximately USD 19.3 billion since the beginning of the administration. He stressed that the US will continue supporting Ukraine with more than 40 allies and partners. According to the statement released by US Defence Department, the military aid includes missiles for HAWK air defense systems, four Avenger air defense systems, stinger missiles, additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), 21,000 155 mm artillery rounds, 500 precision-guided 155mm artillery rounds and 10,000 120mm mortar rounds.

In addition, the military aid comprises 100 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), 400 grenade launchers, small arms, optics, demolition equipment for obstacle clearing, cold weather protective gear and more than 20,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition.

Amid the ongoing war, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in a Facebook post on November 11 said that 12 settlements have been liberated in the Kherson region. The regions liberated by Ukrainian forces include Dudchany, Pyatykhatky, Borozenske, Sadok, Bezvodne, Ishchenka, Kostromka, Krasnolyubetsk, Kalinivske, Bobrovy Kut, Bezimenne and Blagodatne.

Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces claimed that they have shot down a Russian Ka-52 helicopter, struck 2 control points, 10 areas of concentration of manpower, weapons and military equipment, 3 ammunition depots, 5 air defence facilities and 2 other Russian military facilities. (ANI)

Residents struggle for essentials even after Russian withdrawal from Kherson

Kyiv [Ukraine], November 13 (ANI): Although the Russian forces have withdrawn from the city of Kherson, the people of the city are still left struggling for food, water, and medicines, at the same time also suffering from power cuts, CNN reported on Sunday. The authorities have been warning the residents to be wary as they continued their efforts at removing the explosives littering the city, the same time Russian forces remaining just across the strategically important Dnipro River.

Ukraine’s National Police on Saturday warned mass mining remains to be the main threat in the country. So far, around 2000 explosive items such as mines, trip wires, and unexploded ammunition have been removed from the city. “There is practically no water supply in the town. There is a shortage of medicines, and there is a shortage of bread, which is not produced because of the lack of electricity.

There are also problems with food supplies,” CNN quoted Roman Golovnya, adviser to the mayor of Kherson, as saying in a TV broadcast. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, too during his address, warned the country to be careful and not try to ‘independently check’ any buildings and objects left by the occupiers.

“There are 10 groups of bomb disposal experts working in Kherson, the police are working, and there are various units of the defense forces,” CNN quoted Zelenskyy as saying. He further accused the ‘occupiers’ of destroying all critical infrastructure – communication, water supply, heat, and electricity, before leaving the city.

At the same time, the weather conditions are also getting tougher with sub-zero temperatures at night and no heating in the city. The Ukrainian forces have even suggested those who are finding it hard to live, move on to other parts of the country. The critical dam of the Dnipro river at Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region has also suffered damage, CNN reported citing the satellite images from Maxar Technologies. The images showed water flowing out of three sluice gates at the dam, where a major hydroelectric project is situated.

On the other hand, Vladimir Leontie, a Russian-installed official in Nova Kakhovka blamed the shellings by Ukrainian forces for the damage to the dam, however, Ukraine has rejected the claims of shelling the plant, CNN reported. Other Pro-Russian officials claimed that the evacuation of civilians and the retreat of Russian troops from the west bank to the east bank of the Dnipro River is taking place due to the threat of flooding that could happen if the Ukrainian military hits the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam.

CNN further cited its military analyst Cedric Leighton who claimed that a major urban operation will be taking place. “What you are going to see is a methodical operation to clear buildings of potential booby traps and mines,” he said. He suggests that the Ukrainians will have to move their systems forward so that they can counter any possible Russian artillery that can be on the Dnipro river.

“You can see that the Ukrainians have moved to that river bank, they are now controlling that area, they will have to mop up some remaining Russian forces that did not make it out of the west bank of the Dnipro River. But those that are there will probably either surrender or in essence be eliminated from the fight,” he said. Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson is a humiliating setback. Here’s what it means for the war

Earlier on Friday, Russia announced that it will be withdrawing its troops from the west bank of the Dnipro river in the strategic southern region of Kherson, Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson comes out as a humiliating blow for Putin’s war effort in Ukraine, as Kherson was the only Ukrainian regional capital that Russian forces had captured since February’s invasion. (ANI)