Kherson is “ours,” says Zelensky

GBNEWS24DESK//

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said the southern city of Kherson was “ours” after Russia announced its withdrawal was complete.

“Our people. Ours. Kherson,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram. “Today is a historic day. We are taking back Kherson.”

He said that special units of the armed forces were inside Kherson and that other Ukrainian troops were approaching from the outskirts.

“The people of Kherson have been waiting. They never gave up on Ukraine,” Zelensky added later in a video address. “It will be the same in the cities that are still waiting for us to take them back.”

His announcement came as videos posted to social media showed jubilant crowds of locals celebrating in the streets and greeting Ukrainian soldiers as they rolled into the city.

Ukrainian and European Union flags could also be seen raised over a monument in Kherson’s main square.

Earlier, Ukraine’s intelligence spokesperson Andriy Yusov told The Associated Press that “an operation to liberate Kherson” and the surrounding region of the same name was underway.

The retreat by Russian forces marks a significant setback for Moscow, as Kherson city was the only major Ukrainian regional capital to fall into Russian hands since the start of the war. The region is also a strategic gateway to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed illegally in 2014.

“Ukraine is gaining another important victory right now and proves that whatever Russia says or does, Ukraine will win,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.