Russia-Ukraine war live: Russia orders troops to leave key Ukrainian city of Kherson – as it happened (2024)

That’s it for today’s live blog. Thank you for following our coverage. Here’s a a round-up of today’s top headlines and latest developments:

• Russia’s defence minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered Russian troops to withdraw from Ukraine’s city of Kherson, the only regional capital captured by Moscow since this year’s invasion. Russia did not formally declare its retreat, but in a televised meeting with Shoigu, General Sergei Surovikin said it was no longer possible to keep supplying Kherson. This represents a setback for Russian president Vladimir Putin, who just weeks before had announced the “forever” annexation of the Kherson region.

• Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian-appointed administration in the Kherson region, was killed in a car crash. Once an anti-vaccine blogger, Stremousov rose to notoriety as one of the most prominent public faces of the Russian occupation of Ukraine, frequently posting aggressive anti-Ukrainian videos to social media. Russian president Vladimir Putin posthumously decorated Stremousov with the Order of Courage, a top state award.

• Russian forces destroyed bridges on the west bank of the Dnipro River in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region to slow a continuing Ukrainian advance. Ukrainian forces were reported to have retaken a number of settlements, amid what Ukrainian president Volodomyr Zelenskiy described as “intense fighting” on the southern frontline.

• US president Joe Biden said Russia’s withdrawal of troops from Kherson is “evidence” that the Russian military has “real problems.” During a White House press conference, Biden said: “It remains to be seen whether or not there will be a judgment made as to whether or not Ukraine is prepared to compromise with Russia.” As midterm election votes are still being counted, Biden also told reporters he expects US aid to Ukraine will carry on.

• Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg said it was “encouraging” to see Ukrainian forces liberating more of the country’s territory. On his visit to London to meet with prime minister Rishi Sunak, Stoltenberg said Russia’s retreat from Kherson is “part of an overall pattern” demonstrating that Moscow “has absolutely lost the momentum.”

• UN aid chief Martin Griffiths and senior UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan will meet with Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin on Friday to discuss extending the Black Sea grain initiative. “They will continue ongoing consultations in support of the efforts by the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the full implementation of the two agreements signed on 22 July in Istanbul,” a UN spokesperson said in a statement.

• Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow had contacts with US officials from time to time. Zakharova confirmed there would soon be US-Russia consultations on the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty, the last remaining arms control agreement between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.

• A British man has died fighting in Ukraine, his family and the Foreign Office said. Simon Lingard, a father of two from Blackburn, Lancashire, died on Monday. “We are supporting the family of a British national who has lost his life in Ukraine and we are in touch with the local authorities in connection with his death,” a Foreign Office spokesperson said.

US president Joe Biden said on Wednesday that he expects American aid to Ukraine to continue uninterrupted, as the divisive midterm elections saw Republican pushback on the issue.

Last month, Kevin McCarthy – the Republican minority leader in the US House of Representatives – said his party will not write a “blank check” for Ukraine if the GOP wins the House majority.

Speaking to reporters from the White House, Biden was asked whether aid to Ukraine will continue uninterrupted, to which he responded: “That is my expectation.”

“And by the way, we’ve not given Ukraine a blank check,” the president said. “There’s a lot of things that Ukraine wants that we didn’t do.”

“For example, I was asked very much whether we’d provide American aircrafts to guarantee the skies over Ukraine,” he continued. “I said ‘No, we’re not gonna do that, we’re no gonna get into a third world war taking on Russian aircrafts and directly engage, but would we provide them with all the rational ability to defend themselves? Yes.”

Biden said he wants to ensure Ukraine is able to defend itself and “take on what is purely the ugliest aggression that’s occurred since World War 2 on a massive scale”.

“So I would be surprised if leader McCarthy even has a majority of his Republican colleagues who say they’re not gonna fund the legitimate defence and needs of Ukraine,” he added.

US president Joe Biden said Wednesday that Russia’s withdrawal of troops from Kherson is “evidence” that its military has “real problems".

During a White House press conference as midterm election votes are still being counted, Biden addressed Moscow’s decision to remove its forces from the key Ukrainian city of Kherson.

“First of all, I found it interesting that they waited until after the election to make that judgment, which we knew for some time that they were going to be doing,” Biden said. “And it’s evidence of the fact that they have some real problems, the Russian military.”

“It remains to be seen whether or not there will be a judgment made as to whether or not Ukraine is prepared to compromise with Russia,” he added.

Biden – who will be attending the upcoming G20 summit in Indonesia – said he and other world leaders will “have an opportunity to see what the next steps may be” regarding the conflict.

US president Joe Biden on Wednesday expressed hope for Democrats and Republicans to continue their “bipartisan approach” to Russia’s war in Ukraine, regardless of the final results of the midterm elections.

Speaking to reporters at the White House, Biden said:

“Regardless of what the final tally of these elections show, and there’s still some counting going on, I’m prepared to work with my Republican colleagues. The American people have made clear, I think, that they expect Republicans be prepared to work with me as well.

In the area of foreign policy, I hope we’ll continue this bipartisan approach of confronting Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

A British man has died fighting in Ukraine, his family and the Foreign Office said on Wednesday.

Simon Lingard died on Monday, according to a GoFundMe set up by his family for funeral expenses. The father of two from Blackburn, Lancashire, was described as “an inspiration to all who knew him” and “a real life hero who died fighting for what he believed in”.

“He was loved and adored by so many a true representation of what a soldier should be,” the fundraiser’s description reads.

A Foreign Office spokesperson confirmed Lingard’s death in a statement to AFP.

“We are supporting the family of a British national who has lost his life in Ukraine and we are in touch with the local authorities in connection with his death,” the spokesperson said.

Russian president Vladimir Putin posthumously decorated Kirill Stremousov with the Order of Courage, a top state award, the Kremlin said on Wednesday.

Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian-appointed administration in the Kherson region, was killed in a car crash earlier today. A decree from Putin’s office said Stremousov was awarded for “courage and valour shown in the line of duty”.

Formerly an anti-vaccine blogger, Stremousov rose to notoriety as one of the most prominent faces of Russia’s occupation of Ukraine.

A setback for Moscow, Stremousov’s death came as Ukrainian forces launched an offensive to gain a foothold in the key city of Kherson. Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu later ordered troops to withdraw from the city.

UN aid chief Martin Griffiths and senior UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan will meet with Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin on Friday to discuss extending the Black Sea grain initiative, Reuters reports.

Griffiths leads talks on Ukrainian exports, while Grynspan heads discussions on Russian food and fertiliser exports.

“It is hoped that the discussions will advance progress made in facilitating the unimpeded export of food and fertilisers originating from the Russian Federation to the global markets,” a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said Russia’s apparent retreat from Kherson is “part of an overall pattern” demonstrating that Moscow “has absolutely lost the momentum.”

On his visit to London to meet with prime minister Rishi Sunak, Stoltenberg was asked about the Kherson retreat in an interview with Sky News.

“It’s part of an overall pattern or picture we have seen over the last month that Russia has absolutely lost the momentum,” Stoltenberg said.

“But we should not underestimate Russia, they still have capabilities,” he added. “We have seen the drones, we have seen the missile attacks. It shows that Russia can still inflict a lot of damage.”

The time in Kyiv is almost 9pm. Here is a round-up of the day’s main headlines:

• Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has ordered the country’s troops to leave Ukraine’s city of Kherson, the only regional capital Moscow captured since the invasion began in February. Ukrainian victory in Kherson, one of the main objectives of Kyiv’s southern offensive, will be widely seen as a significant blow to the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, only weeks after a high-profile ceremony in Moscow in which he announced the “forever” annexation of Kherson region along with three other regions.

• While Russia did not formally declare that it was abandoning the key city of Kherson, all signs point to a Moscow retreat from the only regional capital it captured after invading in February. In a televised meeting with defence minister Sergei Shoigu, Gen Sergei Surovikin said it was no longer possible to keep supplying Kherson.

• Russian forces have destroyed bridges on the west bank of the Dnipro River in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region to slow a continuing Ukrainian advance, as it was reported that one of the most prominent Russian-installed officials had been killed in a car crash. As the Ukrainian president, Volodomyr Zelenskiy, described “intense fighting” on the southern frontline, Ukrainian troops were reported to have retaken a number of settlements.

• Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russian-installed administration in the Kherson region, has died in a car crash, state news agencies have reported, citing local Russian-backed officials. Stremousov, previously an anti-vaccine blogger and political marginal, had emerged as one of the most prominent public faces of the Russian occupation of Ukraine, frequently using social media to record aggressive anti-Ukrainian videos. Stremousov’s death comes as Ukraine appears to have launched a new offensive to recapture the key city of Kherson.

• Senior United Nations officials planned to meet members of a high-level Russian delegation in Geneva on Friday to discuss the Ukraine grain deal, a UN spokesperson said. “They will continue ongoing consultations in support of the efforts by the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the full implementation of the two agreements signed on 22 July in Istanbul,” the spokesperson said in a statement today.

• Jens Stoltenberg said Vladimir Putin made “several huge mistakes” when he invaded, including underestimating Nato’s ability to support Ukraine. “President Putin made several huge mistakes when he invaded Ukraine, strategic mistakes,” the Nato chief told media outside No 10 Downing Street on a visit to the UK.

• The UK Ministry of Defence released its latest intelligence update, saying: “Russian efforts to repair the Crimean bridge continue but it is unlikely to be fully operational until at least September 2023.” According to intelligence, the road bridge was closed yesterday to allow the movement and installation of a replacement 64-metre space. Three more spans will be required to replace the damaged sections. “Although Crimean officials have claimed these additional spans will be in place by 20 December, a briefing provided to President Putin added that works to the other carriageway would cause disruption to road traffic until March 2023.”

• Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said Moscow had contacts with US officials from time to time, and confirmed there would soon be US-Russia consultations on the New Start nuclear arms reduction treaty, the last remaining arms control agreement between the world’s two largest nuclear powers.

• Ukraine has collated thousands of reports of its children being deported to Russia and wants their plight addressed at a summit of the Group of 20 major economies, Vladimir Zelenskiy’s chief of staff was quoted as saying on Tuesday. “The Russian Federation continues to commit its crimes in connection with Ukrainian children,” Zelenskiy’s office quoted Andriy Yermak as saying at a meeting he chaired of a group of officials responsible for child protection. “The removal of children continues.”

• Thousands of Kyiv residents have signed a petition urging city authorities not to erect a giant tree during this year’s festive period, and instead to give money to the army and to people displaced by the war with Russia. The Kyiv tree, which in recent years has been set up in front of the 11th-century Saint Sophia Cathedral at the heart of the capital, is traditionally the main one in Ukraine at Christmas and New Year.

• Russia has been an “active adversary” of the UK for a number of years, the British defence secretary has said. Ben Wallace visited the Lydd army camp in Kent, where Ukrainian volunteers are being trained to fight in the war against Russia. The cabinet minister referred to the Salisbury novichok poisonings in 2016 and said the UK did not fear reprisals from Russia for supporting Ukraine.

• Villages and towns in Ukraine have experienced more heavy fighting and shelling as Ukrainian and Russian forces strained to advance on different fronts after more than eight and a half months of war. At least nine civilians were killed and 24 others were wounded in 24 hours, the Ukrainian President’s office said, as it accused Russia of using explosive drones, rockets, heavy artillery and aircraft to attack eight regions in the country’s south-east.

• Ukrainian and Russian forces also clashed overnight over Snihurivka, a town about 30 miles north of the southern city of Kherson, the Associated Press reported. Ukraine’s army hopes to reclaim the Russian-occupied city, the only regional capital captured during Moscow’s February invasion and a key target of an ongoing counter-offensive.

• The US basketball player Brittney Griner is being transferred to a Russian penal colony but neither her family nor legal team have any details on where she is or where she is going.

That’s it from me, Tom Ambrose, for today. My colleague Danya Hajjaji will be along shortly to continue bringing you all the latest news from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Senior United Nations officials planned to meet members of a high-level Russian delegation in Geneva on Friday to discuss the Ukraine grain deal, a UN spokesperson said.

“They will continue ongoing consultations in support of the efforts by the Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on the full implementation of the two agreements signed on 22 July in Istanbul,” the spokesperson said in a statement today.

Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Wednesday it was “encouraging” to see Ukrainian forces being able to liberate more of the country’s territory, after Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu ordered his troops to withdraw from Kherson.

Speaking in London where he was meeting British prime minister Rishi Sunak, Stoltenberg said:

The victories, the gains the Ukrainian armed forces are making belongs to the brave, courageous Ukrainian soldiers but of course the support they receive from the United Kingdom, from Nato allies and partners is also essential.

While Russia did not formally declare that it was abandoning the key city of Kherson, all signs point to a Moscow retreat from the only regional capital it captured after invading in February.

In a televised meeting with defence minister Sergei Shoigu, Gen Sergei Surovikin said it was no longer possible to keep supplying Kherson.

Shoigu then ordered his troops to withdraw from the right bank of the River Dnipro where the city of Kherson is located and take up defensive lines on the opposite bank.

Russia’s withdrawal from Kherson was met with both anguish as well support from prominent pro-war figures.

Defending Russia’s decision to withdraw, the head of the Wagner private military corporation and an ally of Gen Surovikin, Yvgeny Prigozhin said:

Of course, this is not a victorious step in this war, but it is important not to agonise, not succumb to paranoia, but to draw conclusions and work on our mistakes.

Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed leader of Chechnya, similarly backed Surovikin. He said:

After weighing all the pros and cons, General Surovikin made a difficult but correct decision… everyone knew that Kherson is a difficult combat territory from the very first days of the special operation.