Zelensky says the liberation of Kherson is “the beginning of the end” of the war in Ukraine

Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskysaid on Monday that the reconquest of Kherson marks “the beginning of the end of the war” during a visit to the city liberated on Friday from the Russian army.

“This is the beginning of the end of the war” affirmed, although he admitted to the press that recovering the territories occupied by Russia it is “a long and difficult road”. “It is impossible to kill Ukraine”, he assured.

LOOK: Zelensky accuses Russian troops of committing “atrocities” in Kherson, liberated by kyiv

The Ukrainian presidency distributed images of Zelensky in Kherson singing the national anthem with her hand on her chest as the country’s blue and yellow flag was hoisted next to the city’s main administrative building.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitri Peskov, however, denied that the Ukrainian leader’s visit had any repercussions on the status of the region Khersonwhich Moscow formally annexed to Russia in a ceremony last month.

LOOK: “Tears of happiness” in Pravdyne, a liberated Ukrainian village near Kherson

“You know very well that it is territory of the Russian Federation,” he said.

In Kherson, Zelensky He said that “the price of this war is high.” “There are people injured, a large number of deaths (…) There was fierce fighting, and the result is that today we are in the region,” he added.

“Atrocities”

Zelensky on Sunday accused Russian forces of committing “atrocities” in Kherson and said that so far 400 “war crimes” have been documented, without specifying if he was referring only to that region. Russia has not reacted to these claims.

LOOK: Emotion in the capital of Ukraine for the liberation of Kherson after the humiliating defeat of the Russians

Kherson It was the first major city to fall into Russian hands after the invasion, at the end of February.

The forced withdrawal of troops from Moscow due to the Ukrainian counter-offensive represents a new setback for Vladimir Putin.

Despite this, the head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, warned on Monday that “the next few months will be difficult” for Ukraine and that Putin’s goal is to “leave Ukraine cold and dark this winter.”

The city of Kherson it was the first major urban center to fall into the hands of Russian forces and the only regional capital that Moscow’s troops controlled.

Its reconquest opens Ukraine a gateway to the entire region, with access to both the Black Sea in the west and the Sea of ​​Azov in the east.

The region was one of four whose annexation the Kremlin announced in September. Putin then vowed to use all available means to defend them from Ukrainian forces, hinting at the use of nuclear weapons.

However, US President Joe Biden and his counterpart Xi Jinping agreed Monday at their G20 talks in Indonesia that nuclear weapons should never be used, including in Ukraine.

“President Biden and President Xi reiterated their agreement that nuclear war must never be fought (…) and underscored their opposition to the use or threat to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine,” the White House said.

In Kherson Several inhabitants told AFP the months of Russian occupation and some acts of resistance to show their rejection of being annexed by Russia.

Volodimir Timor, a 19-year-old, spent months with his friends analyzing the movements of Russian soldiers on the streets of Kherson and reporting them to the Ukrainian army.

“You watch carefully and then you go home, write it all down and send it off. Absolutely everything: phones, papers, clothes, ”this young man told AFP that he wanted to be a musician before the war.

“We reported everything: where their equipment was, where they stored their ammunition, where they slept, where they went to have a drink,” he recalls.

For their part, the Ukrainian intelligence services said they had detained in the city a Russian soldier “disguised as a civilian” whose task was to “collect information” and carry out “sabotage”.

In the Lugansk region, the Ukrainian army has retaken the village of Makiivka, 50 kilometers northeast of the strategic Russian-controlled city of Severonetsk, the Ukrainian presidency said on Monday.

And in the neighboring Donetsk region, the Russian military said its forces were gaining ground by conquering the town of Pavlivka.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.