Russians ordered Their Troops Out of kherson

Ukrainian soldiers sit on a military vehicle near the frontline of the northern Kherson region. Photograph: Hannibal Hanschke/EPA

KYIV/NOVOOLEXANDRIVKA, Ukraine (Reuters) -Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday ordered his troops to withdraw from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the face of Ukrainian attacks near the southern city of Kherson, a significant retreat and potential turning point in the war.

In televised comments, General Sergei Surovikin, in overall command of the war, said it was no longer possible to supply Kherson city. He said he proposed to take up defensive lines on the eastern bank of the river.

The news followed weeks of Ukrainian advances towards the city and a race by Russia to relocate more than 100,000 of its residents.

“We will save the lives of our soldiers and the fighting capacity of our units. Keeping them on the right (western) bank is futile. Some of them can be used on other fronts,” Surovikin said.

In recent weeks there has been speculation that Moscow could either withdraw its forces from the west bank of the Dnipro or dig in for a bloody battle in the coming days or weeks.

Earlier, the main bridge on a road out of Kherson city was blown up.

Photos on the internet showed the span of the Darivka bridge on the main highway east out of Kherson completely collapsed into the water of the Inhulets River, a tributary of the Dnipro River. Reuters verified the location of the images.

Ukrainians who posted photos of the destroyed bridge over the Inhulets on Wednesday speculated that it had been blown up by Russian troops in preparation for a retreat.

Vitaly Kim, the Ukrainian governor of Mykolaiv region, which borders Kherson, suggested Ukrainian forces had pushed some Russians out: “Russian troops are complaining that they have already been thrown out of there,” Kim said in a statement on his Telegram channel.

By Tom Balmforth and Jonathan Landay

Additional reporting by Peter Graff, Pavel Polityuk, and Reuters bureaux; Writing by Peter Graff; Editing by Gareth Jones and Alex Richardson