Key developments on Nov. 11: * Prosecutors: Bodies of civilians found in liberated parts of Kherson Oblast * Ukraine returns 45 POWs from Russian captivity * Ukraine building a wall at border with Belarus * Germany to send Ukraine additional 1 billion euros for cyber defense, documenting war crimes. “Today is a historic day.
The Russian defeat in Kherson Oblast was almost inevitable — but it happened sooner than many expected. The Nov. 9 announcement on Russia’s “uneasy decision” to leave Kherson, voiced by General Sergei Surovikin, has drawn the line under a months-long Ukrainian effort to undermine the Russian presence on Dnipro’s
Russia's gradual retreat reached a sudden climax on Nov. 9, when Moscow announced the withdrawal of its forces from the right bank of the Dnipro River, including the city of Kherson. Upon the recommendation of Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the
MYKOLAIV OBLAST — The low November sun slips in and out of the clouds near the regional border between Kherson and Mykolaiv. The last of the autumn leaves, the color of rust and flame, blow across the barren field as a handful of Ukrainian soldiers climb a small tree and go
As Ukrainians push toward occupied Kherson, the Russian occupiers on Oct. 18 said they would move up to 60,000 Ukrainian civilians to occupied parts of Ukraine or Russia. The occupation authorities called it an “evacuation,” saying that Ukrainian forces are likely to attack the city. The Russians have already
Ukrainian forces are gaining ground in Kherson Oblast. They are liberating villages and pushing towards the western bank of the Dnipro River, to squeeze the Russian forces against it. The Russian lines in the region are collapsing as their position west of the river gets less tenable by the day.
As signs that Ukraine had launched its long-awaited counteroffensive to liberate Russian-occupied Kherson began to emerge on Aug. 29, the Ukrainian government once again called on the remaining residents in occupied Kherson Oblast to evacuate. The Ukrainian military launched its counteroffensive in “many directions” in the south, Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson
The combat effectiveness of Russian forces in Ukraine’s southern Kherson Oblast will be noticeably affected by Ukrainian strikes on the bridges and crossing points there, military analysts said. With multiple recent strikes against three main bridges across the Dnipro, Ukraine’s largest river, Russian forces in Kherson Oblast were
Ukraine said it’s coming to liberate Kherson and Russia listened. Large Russian forces have been streaming into southern Ukraine over the past several weeks, centered around Kherson Oblast, where Ukraine is expected to be conducting a counter-offensive, per President Volodymyr Zelensky’s order to liberate the south. Analysts estimate
The third phase of Russia's war on Ukraine is coming. The first, the Kremlin's brazen blitzkrieg in late February that culminated in the Battle of Kyiv, failed. The months-long Battle of Donbas in Ukraine’s east making up the second phase has gotten bogged down, with Russia having barely enough
Editor's Note: The names of some of the people in this story who live under Russian occupation have been changed due to security reasons. One morning in early March, Iryna, 33, was frantically going through her closet looking for comfortable shoes. She knew she would have to walk to her
Over the past several months Russia’s focus on capturing Sievierodonetsk has forced it to pull assets and attention from other positions of attack, giving Ukraine opportunities for tactical counterattacks. Successful Ukrainian offensives have been observed in Kharkiv Oblast as of early May and in Kherson Oblast and the city
Editor’s Note: The Kyiv Independent used false names for all sources who spoke from Kherson Oblast for this story, for the sake of security. Life is getting worse in the city of Kherson, which has been occupied by Russian forces for nearly a month. The near-total absence of critical
Oleh Baturin, a journalist for the Novy Den, a newspaper in Ukraine’s southern Kherson Oblast, was kidnapped by the Russian military on March 12. Baturin lives in Kakhovka, a city of 35,000 people 90 kilometers to the west from the regional capital Kherson. For many years he has
