In Pictures

Photos: Russia’s occupation of Ukraine’s Kherson city

Russian troops have pulled back from Kherson city after eight months of occupation.

A picture taken during a media tour organized by the Russian Army shows a Russian serviceman standing guard as a family walks on a promenade along the Dnipro River in Kherson, Ukraine — A Russian serviceman stands guard as a family walks on a promenade along the Dnieper River in Kherson, Ukraine, in May 2022. [Sergei Ilnitsky/EPA]

Russia on Wednesday ordered its troops to withdraw from the west bank of the Dnieper River in the face of Ukrainian attacks near the southern city of Kherson, a significant retreat and potential turning point in the war.

Kherson city was the only regional capital Russia had captured since its invasion in February, and the abandonment of such a strategic prize would be a significant setback for what Moscow terms its “special military operation” in Ukraine.

In televised comments, General Sergei Surovikin said it was no longer possible to supply Kherson city. He said he proposed to take up defensive lines on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River.

The news followed weeks of Ukrainian advances towards the city and a race by Russia to relocate tens of thousands of its residents.

Kherson is the region’s main city of the same name – one of four Ukrainian regions that President Vladimir Putin proclaimed in September he was incorporating into Russia “forever”, and one that the Kremlin said had been placed under Moscow’s nuclear umbrella.

Demonstrators, some displaying Ukrainian flags, chant "go home" as Russian military vehicles reverse course on the roadway, during Russia's invasion of Kherson in March. [Reuters]

Mother of Ukrainian serviceman Abdulkarim Gulamov. — The mother of a Ukrainian serviceman, killed in a fight against Russian troops in the Kherson region in July, holds a national flag during a funeral ceremony in Kyiv. [Valentyn Ogirenko/Reuters]

An armoured truck of pro-Russian troops is parked. — An armoured truck parks near a municipal building in Kherson in July. [Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]

An aerial view shows the city of Kherson in May. [Andrey Borodulin/AFP]

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Denis Pushilin, Leonid Pasechnik, Vladimir Saldo, Yevgeny Balitsky. — Russian President Vladimir Putin (centre) and the Russia-installed leaders of Ukraine's Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions attend a ceremony to declare the annexation of the four Russian-controlled territories in September. [Grigory Sysoyev/Sputnik/Reuters]

Men fish from the embankment, in the city of Kherson — Men fish from an embankment in the city of Kherson in October. [Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]

Local residents gather to receive financial aid during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the Russia-controlled city of Kherson — Local residents gather to receive financial aid in the Russian-controlled city of Kherson in July. [Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]

Civilians evacuated from the Russian-controlled city of Kherson walk from a ferry to board a bus heading to Crimea in October. [Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]

Men, who were evacuated from the Russian-controlled Kherson. — Men evacuated from the Kherson region stand in a room at a care home for elderly and disabled people in Russia's Rostov region. [Sergey Pivovarov/Reuters]

A Ukranian woman sits in a car with her family . — A Ukrainian woman sits in a car with her family after they fled from the Russian-occupied territory of Kherson. [Bulent Kilic/AFP]

Ukrainian servicemen fire a self-propelled gun at a position on a frontline in Kherson region, Ukraine. — Ukrainian servicemen fire a 2S7 Pion self-propelled gun, on a front line in the Kherson region. [Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters]

A girl sits between pet carriers as civilians evacuated from the Russian-controlled city of Kherson wait to board a bus heading to Crimea. [Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters]