Here, some explanations about the impact of this setback for President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian Army announced the beginning of the withdrawal of his troops from Jershon, a strategic city in southern Ukraine that it had occupied since the end of February. Here are some explanations about the impact of this setback for President Vladimir Putin.
The commander of Russian operations in Ukraine, General Sergei Surovikin, presented this withdrawal as a way to save the thousands of Russian soldiers who were still on the ground, trapped with their backs to the Dnieper River and under heavy pressure.
Since the end of August, the Ukrainian army has been carrying out a broad counteroffensive in the region, which has allowed him to retake dozens of towns step by step.
Using high-precision long-range artillery supplied by the West, most notably American Himars, kyiv has been bombing ammunition depots relentlessly for weeks and Russian supply lines in the region. Selective executions of senior pro-Russian officials have also increased.
“The enemy had no choice but to flee,” Gen. Oleksiy Gromov, a representative of the Ukrainian General Staff, said on Thursday, adding that it was impossible for him to “confirm or deny” whether they did in fact withdraw.
Moscow had already ordered the evacuation of civilians and of the administration of occupation of Jerson on 18 October towards the left bank of the Dnieper, a natural barrier where Moscow could more easily consolidate its lines.
The ISW military analysis center considered it unlikely that the announcement of the Russian withdrawal was a maneuver by Moscow.
Said had verified recently “a steady withdrawal of Russian forces, military and economic resources and elements of the occupation” to the eastern bank of the Dnieper.
The withdrawal of Russian troops it’s a huge setback for Vladimir Putin, who had announced the annexation of the Kherson region in September, along with three other Ukrainian territories, promising that these lands would be Russian “forever.”
Strategically, it will be difficult for Moscow to continue its offensive towards the Ukrainian city of Mikolaiv and the strategic Black Sea port of Odessa.
Furthermore, Russia could lose control of the Kakhovka damon the Dnieper, which is strategic for supplying water to the annexed Crimean peninsula, bordering the Jershon region.
From the city of Jershon, the Ukrainian troops could even attack Crimea directly with its long-range artillery.
Following the Russian withdrawal from northeastern Ukraine, this second withdrawal in two months may also weigh on the spirit of the troopsat a time when Moscow is deploying hundreds of thousands of reservists, mostly civilians with no real military experience.
Russian news channels made little mention of the withdrawal, as they often do when there is bad news on the Ukrainian front.
Unlike previous Russian setbacks, senior regime officials generally approved of the withdrawal, refraining from criticizing the Russian military hierarchy.
Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov and the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, Evgeni Prigokhin, said the decision was difficult but necessary.
The appointment in October of General Serguei Surovikin as head of the Russian forces in Ukraine seems to have satisfied the most radical. This soldier is reputed to be a ruthless but competent leader, able, if necessary, to make difficult decisions.
The deployment of Russian troops behind the Dnieper River would make it more difficult for Ukraine to continue its offensive in the region.
Moscow, which has suffered heavy losses, want to give yourself time to equip and train the tens of thousands of soldiers mobilized since September. With a view, perhaps, to a new offensive after the winter.
US officials have also raised the possibility of resuming peace talks between kyiv and Moscow, which have been stalled since late March.
Fuente: AFP
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