RUSSIAN TROOPS ORDERED TO LEAVE KHERSON

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) seen during the Navy Day Parade in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on July, 31. (Getty Images)

According to Russian military command, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu approved the withdrawal of troops from Kherson. General Sergey Surovikin, head of Russian forces in Ukraine, said on Nov. 9 that it was "a hard decision." 

"Having assessed the situation, I propose to prepare defenses along the left bank of the Dnipro River," Surovikin said.

Earlier, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of Russia's illegal occupation government in Kherson Oblast, was killed. Stremousov, a local Ukrainian politician and blogger, welcomed the Russian occupation of Kherson and became a key pro-Russian voice in the region.

Maj. Serhiy Tsehotskiy, the press officer of the 59th Motorized Brigade, said last week that Russian-appointed occupation leaders had pulled back across the river. Russian troops also looted the city.

"We have data that everything of value has already been moved out of Kherson," he said. "We know for certain that the entire city administration, all the government institutions, are already empty, the buildings don't even have flags anymore."