According to Ukrainian sources, Russian troops are withdrawing from the east bank of the Dnipro River in the south of the country. “Declining numbers of Russian soldiers and military equipment can be observed in the town of Oleshky,” according to a statement released Thursday by the Ukrainian military. Oleshky is located across from the city of Kherson, which was recently vacated by Russian forces. In the area meanwhile only Russian reservists were stationed, it was said, which would mean that the elite units had been withdrawn.
Reuters was initially unable to independently verify the information. It also remained unclear whether Ukrainian troops have already crossed the Dnipro and taken up positions on the eastern side of the river. In the past few days, the Russian armed forces had repeatedly fired rockets at the city of Cherson, and the power went out in the city at times. The Kherson region is one of the four Ukrainian regions annexed by Russia at the end of September, along with Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk.
Ukraine and the West do not recognize this. However, Russian forces have since lost control of much of the region. Russian troops withdrew from the city of Cherson last month.