Putin's defense chief orders retreat in Kherson, the first major Ukrainian city Russian forces captured, in new battlefield humiliation

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced on Wednesday that he was ordering Russian forces in Kherson to retreat across the Dnieper River, which is one of the most significant setbacks for Russia in the Ukrainian war so far.

After intense fighting, Ukrainian forces made advances towards the city. 100,000 of the city's residents were relocated by Russia.

The lives of our servicemen and the effectiveness of the group of troops are the most important thing.

I agree with everything you have said. The life and health of Russian servicemen is of paramount importance to us. Shoigu said that the threats to the civilian population must be taken into account and that the safe transfer of personnel, weapons and equipment must be ensured.

—max seddon (@maxseddon) November 9, 2022

Putin was not present for the televised meeting with Shoigu and Surovkin, perhaps to distance himself from the embarrassing development.

The city of Kherson is the capital of the Kherson oblast, which was annexed by Putin in an illegal move. The Russian retreat from Kherson shows the tenuous nature of the annexations since Moscow's forces do not fully control or occupy the Ukrainian regions the Kremlin now claims as part of Russia. Putin said that he would defend Russia's land with all the powers and means at his disposal.

Putin wants to create a land bridge from Russia to the Ukrainian territory he annexed in 2014).

Rob Lee, a military analyst, said that the victory forUkraine was very impressive. Will Russia be able to withdraw without taking heavy equipment and personnel losses? He said that Ukraine has an incentive to make the withdrawal chaotic.

Lee said this is one of the reasons why a ceasefire is not in Ukraine's interests, as Russia seeks to train and equip soldiers and obtain arms from Iran. Lee said it was more likely that the war would end sooner.