In recent days there has been much talk about the Russian withdrawal from Kherson. Some have even called it a "turning point in the war".
Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine, was a strategic point for the Russian military, as it is a connecting link in the land corridor between Russian territory and Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. It is also the only province capital the Russians managed to conquer to date. Furthermore, Russia announced the annexation of four regions this past September, Kherson among them.
This is undoubtedly an impressive achievement of the Ukrainian army, both political and military. During September-October, the Ukrainians made a concerted effort to damage the supply routes of the enemy army. They bombed bridges over the Dnieper River near Kherson and even managed to strike the bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which was a logistical lifeline for the Russians in the Kherson region.
The heavy Ukrainian pressure on the front, in addition to the severe damage to the supply chains, eventually forced the Russian army commanders to order their forces to withdraw from Kherson to the left bank of the Dnieper River. However, this retreat was far different from the rapid retreat – bordering on escape – in eastern Ukraine in the Kharkiv region last September. The complex operation lasted several weeks, mostly at night, and included the relocation of about 30,000 soldiers and officers and thousands of heavy equipment (tanks, cannons, and more). The Russians also scattered many mines in the different areas of Kherson to make it difficult for the Ukrainians, both the army and the returning residents, to enter the city.
One of the considerations, less typical of the Russian command, was the desire to safeguard manpower. This might be because elite units were stationed in and around Kherson – paratroopers, marines, and others, among the few remaining in the Russian army, and without them it would have been left almost entirely with untrained new recruits. It seems the Russian army has learned its lessons.
The retreat from Kherson dealt a fatal blow to the Russian army's plans to capture the city of Odessa and take control of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast. Despite the great importance of the liberation of Kherson, however, the Ukrainian victory does not herald the imminent end of the war and the fighting will continue in the coming months. The Ukrainian army will try to continue to liberate more territories before the approaching winter forces the parties to stop, in order not to allow the adversary to regroup while assembling its forces and weapons.
In recent days there has been much talk about the Russian withdrawal from Kherson. Some have even called it a "turning point in the war".
Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine, was a strategic point for the Russian military, as it is a connecting link in the land corridor between Russian territory and Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014. It is also the only province capital the Russians managed to conquer to date. Furthermore, Russia announced the annexation of four regions this past September, Kherson among them.
This is undoubtedly an impressive achievement of the Ukrainian army, both political and military. During September-October, the Ukrainians made a concerted effort to damage the supply routes of the enemy army. They bombed bridges over the Dnieper River near Kherson and even managed to strike the bridge connecting Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which was a logistical lifeline for the Russians in the Kherson region.
The heavy Ukrainian pressure on the front, in addition to the severe damage to the supply chains, eventually forced the Russian army commanders to order their forces to withdraw from Kherson to the left bank of the Dnieper River. However, this retreat was far different from the rapid retreat – bordering on escape – in eastern Ukraine in the Kharkiv region last September. The complex operation lasted several weeks, mostly at night, and included the relocation of about 30,000 soldiers and officers and thousands of heavy equipment (tanks, cannons, and more). The Russians also scattered many mines in the different areas of Kherson to make it difficult for the Ukrainians, both the army and the returning residents, to enter the city.
One of the considerations, less typical of the Russian command, was the desire to safeguard manpower. This might be because elite units were stationed in and around Kherson – paratroopers, marines, and others, among the few remaining in the Russian army, and without them it would have been left almost entirely with untrained new recruits. It seems the Russian army has learned its lessons.
The retreat from Kherson dealt a fatal blow to the Russian army's plans to capture the city of Odessa and take control of the Ukrainian Black Sea coast. Despite the great importance of the liberation of Kherson, however, the Ukrainian victory does not herald the imminent end of the war and the fighting will continue in the coming months. The Ukrainian army will try to continue to liberate more territories before the approaching winter forces the parties to stop, in order not to allow the adversary to regroup while assembling its forces and weapons.