Withdrawing from key Ukraine city of Kherson, says Russia

Move Serious Blow To Putin’ s War Effort; Kyiv Is Wary

Russia’s defence minister announced on television on Wednesday that he was ordering the retreat of Moscow’s forces from the strategically important southern city of Kherson, in a potentially serious blow to President Putin’s war effort. The statement, in a televised meeting with the military’s top brass, came after General Sergei Surovikin, the commander for Russia’s forces in Ukraine, told Sergei Shoigu, Russia’s defence minister, that the decision was “difficult” but that a withdrawal would “preserve lives of servicemen and combat readiness of forces.”