Zaluzhny: Armed Forces of Ukraine took control of 12 settlements near Kherson on Nov 9

There are the colossal efforts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine behind every Russia’s so-called "gesture of goodwill". Only over the past day, Ukrainian troops took control of 12 settlements near Kherson.

As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny posted on Telegram, "just as the enemy withdrew from Kyiv and Kharkiv regions and left Zmiinyi, the likely withdrawal from Kherson is the result of our active actions."

In Kherson direction, the Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed the logistics routes and support system, disrupted the Russian military command system, and thus left the enemy no other option than to flee, the Commander-in-Chief emphasized.

As Zaluzhny noted, at the moment "we can neither confirm nor deny the information about the so-called withdrawal of the Russian occupation troops from Kherson. We continue the offensive operation in accordance with our plan."

He added that "the advance of our troops into the depth of the enemy's defense is up to 36.5 km, the total area of the recaptured territory reaches 1,381 sq km, control over 41 settlements has been restored" in Kherson direction since October 1.

Over the past day, in Petropavlivka-Novoraysk direction, the units of the Defense Forces advanced 7 km, took control of six settlements, restored Ukraine’s control over 107 sq km of territory. "In Pervomayske-Kherson direction, we advanced 7 km, took control of six settlements, the area of freed land is 157 sq km," Zaluzhny noted.

As reported, on November 9, Sergei Surovikin, the commander of the joint group of Russian troops in Ukraine, and Russian defense minister Sergei Shoigu announced the withdrawal of troops from Kherson to the left bank of the Dnipro River.

That day, Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the Head of the President's Office, said that it was too early to talk about the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson. He also noted that a significant part of Russian troops remained stationed in Kherson, additional reserves were being redeployed to the region, and Russia was not going to leave Kherson without a fight.

Brigadier General Oleksiy Hromov, Deputy Chief of the Main Operational Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, noted that the command of the Russian armed forces had not asked the Ukrainian side to create a "green corridor" for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson.

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