Since it’s impossible to know what is going on in Ukraine, we’ve included three versions, particularly emphasizing Kherson. Russia says they are leaving Kherson to save lives. The Washington Times says they’re leaving in humiliation. Lt. Col. MacGregor says Ukraine’s situation is dire, and the US in Ukraine is threatening to attack Russia IN UKRAINE.
Also, Ukraine doesn’t believe Russia is leaving Kherson.
THE RUSSIAN VERSION
RT reports that Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu ordered Russian forces to pull back from the city of Kherson and establish a new defense line along the Dnieper River.
Russia claims Ukrainian troops have been launching “indiscriminate strikes” against the city of Kherson, hitting schools and hospitals in particular, Surovikin said during his remarks on Wednesday. “People’s lives are in constant danger due to shelling,” he emphasized.
Humanitarian aid centers and routes used by civilians for relocation across the Dnieper River are being struck as well, the general added.
Continued Ukrainian missile strikes on the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam located near Kherson also pose a serious risk to both the military and civilians on the right bank of the Dnieper, according to Surovikin. The dam has already been damaged in Ukrainian attacks, and another “devastating” blow could lead to “large areas” being flooded. It would also lead to massive civilian casualties…
Russian forces have helped all civilians willing to leave the city of Kherson to relocate to the left bank of the Dnieper, the general said. More than 115,000 people had moved out of the city in recent weeks, he told Shoigu…
Russian troops have managed to “stabilize” the situation on the frontlines despite the continued Ukrainian attacks, Surovikin said. The general also stated that the partial mobilization carried out in Russia between late September and early November allowed Russian forces to build up reserves and greatly enhance combat capabilities.
THE US VERSION BASED ON UKRAINE INFORMATION
The Washington Times report says it marks “perhaps the most embarrassing defeat for Moscow so far in eight months of war and fueling hope that Ukraine might recapture the bulk of its territory now in the hands of Russia and pro-Moscow separatist groups.”
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It was a strategic and symbolic retreat. Kherson was one of the first major Ukrainian cities to fall to Russian forces in the days after the Feb. 24 invasion and was the only regional capital still in the Kremlin’s hands.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered the withdrawal from Kherson after a meeting Wednesday with Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who leads Russia’s integrated forces in Ukraine. While Ukrainian officials quickly cast doubt on the sincerity of the announcement, Gen. Surovikin painted a bleak picture for Russian troops in Kherson, a city of about 280,000.
According to the Times, he said Russian troops could face “complete isolation” amid a Ukrainian counterattack that has pummeled Russian supply lines over the past several weeks. He pleaded with Gen. Shoigu to reposition forces rather than fight a losing battle in Kherson.
“I understand that this is a very uneasy decision. At the same time, we will preserve … the lives of our service men and, as a whole, the combat capability of the group of forces,” he said, according to Russia’s state-run Tass news agency…
Mr. Shoigu agreed with the recommendation and ordered the withdrawal for “the life and health of Russian service men” inside the city…
For Russian President Vladimir Putin, it’s arguably the most humiliating setback so far in his Ukraine campaign. The city of Kherson is in a province of the same name, one of four provinces that Mr. Putin in September claimed to have “annexed” into Russia. Virtually every government on the planet rejected that supposed annexation, but the move signaled that Moscow was prepared to fight tooth and nail to control Kherson and other territories in southeastern Ukraine.
According to Newsweek, Ukrainians aren’t celebrating it. They think it’s a trick, and they don’t see Russians leaving in force.
UKRAINE’S SITUATION IS DIRE?
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. MacGregor says the situation in Ukraine is dire, and the US is allegedly threatening Russia that if they go past a certain red line IN UKRAINE, the US soldiers will attack them (08:53 on the mark).
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