Are Russian troops planning to devastate Kherson while withdrawing?

Ukrainian forces have liberated 41 settlements as they advance through the south of the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "Today we have good news from the south," he said. "But although we are joyful, we must remember now and forever what this movement means — every step by our defence forces represents ... lives given for the freedom of Ukrainians."

Zelenskyy also said that Ukrainians have to go all the way "on the battlefield and in diplomacy" to return Ukrainian flags all over Ukraine. Ukrainian troops pushed towards Kherson, after Russia ordered one of the war's most significant retreats. A forced pullout from Kherson, the only provincial capital Moscow had captured after invading Ukraine, would mark one of Russia's worst setbacks of the war.

Kyiv says Russia plans to 'ruin' Kherson
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reacted skeptically to Moscow's announcement that Russian troops would withdraw from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. In a rare move, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a televised briefing on Wednesday that troops should leave the west bank of the Dnieper River where Kherson is situated. "The Russian troop units are manoeuvring to prepared position on the left bank of the Dnipro river in strict accordance with the approved plan," the Russian defence ministry said on Thursday.

The leader of the Russian constituent republic of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, said that he considers the Russian troop withdrawal to be the correct decision. But Zelenskyy cast doubt on the announcement, saying: "The enemy does not bring us gifts, does not make 'gestures of goodwill.'" Zelenskyy added in his nightly address that any gains for Ukraine would only come "at the expense of "lives lost by our heroes. [Russia] wants to turn Kherson into a 'city of death.' [The Russian] military mines everything they can: apartments, sewers. Artillery on the left bank plans to turn the city into ruins," Zelenskyy's adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Thursday.

A British defense intelligence update on Thursday said Russian forces "had been placed under pressure by Ukrainian strikes on Russia's resupply routes." According to the update, the withdrawal would likely take days as Russia's forces destroyed bridges and "laid mines" to stall advancing Ukrainian troops. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office said he spoke with Zelenskyy on Thursday and agreed it was right to express caution about Russia's pullout "until the Ukrainian flag was raised over the city."

DW's correspondent in Kyiv, Nick Connolly, said the Russian televised announcement was inconsistent with Moscow's earlier withdrawals from occupied Ukrainian regions. "This is definitely a break in strategy. Also, all the talk about wanting to save Russian soldiers' lives ... that is also not something that really gels with what Russia has been doing elsewhere," Connolly said, adding that this has led Ukrainians to believe that the announcement is "a trap."

The White House announced a new $400 million (€394 million) military aid package for Ukraine on Thursday that will include air defense systems. Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the package includes "important air defense contributions" such as missiles for Hawk air defense systems as well as US Avenger air defense systems that come equipped with Stinger missiles. According to the Pentagon statement, the package will also include additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and other weapon systems, 100 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs), 400 grenade launchers, demolition equipment for obstacle clearing, and cold weather protective gear. Sullivan also said the United States has detected some signs that Russian forces may be planning to withdraw from the Ukraine city of Kherson. He said that the Russian withdrawal from some areas in Ukraine does not mean the Ukraine war is concluding. Sullivan added that Washington was not pressuring Ukraine to engage in diplomacy with Russia over the war.