Russia Ukraine War: Russian soldiers left southern Ukraine; Next target on Crimea

It's been nine months since the Russo-Ukraine War. Despite this, Ukraine is not ready to give up. The Ukrainian army is fiercely fighting Russia and its forces have been forced to retreat from Kherson. Kherson was occupied by Russia for about eight and a half months. After the referendum in September, President Vladimir Putin announced the merger of four regions of Ukraine, including Kherson, into Russia and appointed administrators there. Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday that it had ended the evacuation of its troops from the west bank of the Dnieper River in Ukraine's southern Kherson region. The war has another humiliating blow for Moscow. 

Withdrawal of troops not an embarrassment for Russia

In a statement carried by Russia's state news agencies, the Defense Ministry said the evacuation of troops was completed at 5 a.m. Friday and that not a single unit of military equipment was left behind. The areas from which the Russian army departed include the city of Kherson. It is the only regional capital of Ukraine that was occupied by Russia for about 8 1/2 months. The Kremlin stressed on Friday that the Russian military's withdrawal does not represent an embarrassment in any way for President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow sees the Kherson region as part of Russia.

Russian army is still firing in Kherson

He said the Kremlin had no regrets of holding a festival a month ago to celebrate the illegal occupation of Kherson and three other Ukrainian territories. Shortly before the Russian announcement, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office described the situation in the

Kherson region as "very difficult". It has reported Russian military shelling in some villages and towns recaptured by Ukrainian forces in recent weeks during retaliatory strikes in the Kherson region. 

Ukrainian official claims, landmines laid in Kherson

Ukrainian officials are wary of the Russian military withdrawal announced this week. They feared that their soldiers might be ambushed in the city of Kherson. Kherson has a population of 280,000. Military analysts also predicted that it would take at least a week for the Russian military to complete the withdrawal. Ukraine's presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolik, said on Thursday that retreating Russian troops had laid landmines in Kherson to turn it into a "city of death". He also predicted that he would open the city after it was moved to the Dnieper River.

Claim to blow up Antonovsky Bridge before leaving Kherson

The status of the major Antonovsky Bridge connecting the western and eastern banks of the Dnieper in the Kherson region remained unclear on Friday. This may be important in determining whether the Russians have indeed left the city of Kherson. Russian media reports suggested that the bridge was blown up after the withdrawal of Russian forces. Pro-Kremlin journalists posted footage of a large part of the bridge, but Sergei Yeliseyev, a Russian official in the Kherson region, said the Antonovsky Bridge was not blown up, it was in the same condition. 

After Kherson, Crimea could be Ukraine's next target

Capturing the city could give Ukraine a launching pad for supplies and troops to try to win back other lost territory in the south, including Crimea, which Moscow captured in 2014. A new situation has arisen for the Russian army on the eastern bank of Kherson. However, the Kremlin may try to escalate the war. American estimates show that about a million soldiers died in the war.