Ukraine suspicious over Russian withdrawal from Kherson; says 'Putin could be laying trap'

Ukraine has accused Russian troops of not withdrawing from the city, stating that an additional reserve force is still deployed in the Kherson region. The remark from Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, came after Russian commander Sergey Surovikin announced on Wednesday that Russian troops are withdrawing from the western part of Kherson oblast.

"It is expedient to organise defence along the barrier line of the Dnieper River, along its left bank," Surovikin said, according to Kremlin-backed media organisation RIA Novosti. "The decision to continue defending the left bank of the Dnieper did not come easily, but at the same time we will preserve the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of the troop group," he added, saying that the "transfer will be carried out in the near future."

'We see no sign': Ukraine on Russian troops withdrawing from Kherson state

Taking to Twitter, Podolyak wrote that Ukraine sees no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight. 

According to a Newsweek report, Galina Lugovaya, who is the head of the Kherson city military administration, expressed concern over Russia's announcement of leaving Kherson oblast. Lugovaya said Kremlin troops are not likely to surrender Kherson without a battle. He claimed that the Russian commander's announcement of the retreat is designed to mislead and Kremlin would possibly be laying a trap. "Not everything is as smooth as the enemies make it out to be," he added.

Meanwhile, Yuri Sobolevskyi, the deputy head of Ukraine's regional council, told NBC News that the Russians' removal of flags from the occupied administrative building in Kherson could have been done to make Ukrainian troops believe that they are withdrawing from the region.

Russia managed to fend off Ukraine's counterattacks, says Sergey Surovikin

On the other hand, Surovikin stated that the situation in the region of Russia’s special military operation has generally stabilised, and Russian soldiers have managed to defend themselves from Ukraine’s counterattacks in the direction of Krasny Liman and Kupyansk. He claimed that the attempted offensive by the Ukrainian military on Kherson last night was repelled too. The Russian general claimed that the Ukrainian side is suffering significant losses. The Russian commander asserted that Ukraine lost around 9.5 thousand men, accounting for both killed and wounded, in the direction of Kherson since August.  

(Image: AP/Representative)