Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday sang the national anthem in Kherson, whose recapture by Ukrainian forces he hailed as the “beginning of the end of the war” that Russia began nearly nine months ago.
Ukrainian troops entered the city of Kherson on Friday following the withdrawal of thousands of Russian troops to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, which divides the southern region of Ukraine annexed by Russia on Sept. 30.
“This is the beginning of the end of the war”said Zelensky, quoted by the US agency AP.
“We are reaching all temporarily occupied areas step by step”he said, adding that Ukraine has paid a “heavy price” in dead and wounded to get Kherson back after a “fierce battle”.
Zelensky strolled the streets of Kherson, handing out medals to soldiers and taking part in a national flag-raising ceremony in the center of the region’s eponymous capital.
In a video posted to Twitter by his office and described by the French agency AFP, Zelensky appears with his hand on his heart singing words from the national anthem in front of soldiers and residents: “our enemies shall perish like dew before the sun, and we, brethren, shall also reign in our land”.
Video footage also shows him waving to residents who waved at him from an apartment window and shouted “Glory to Ukraine”, to which the group Zelensky replied “Glory to heroes”.
A few hours earlier, in his usual nighttime video, Zelensky had warned Ukrainians about the possibility that Russian troops had left booby traps and mines before withdrawing, the AP said.
Zelensky has previously appeared unexpectedly in other parts of the frontline, at crucial moments in the war, to support troops and congratulate them on success on the battlefield.
In Moscow, the Kremlin (presidency) spokesman declined to comment on Zelensky’s visit to Kherson, limiting himself to reaffirming that it was “territory of the Russian Federation”.
In addition to Kherson, Russia simultaneously annexed the Ukrainian regions of Zaporijia (south) and Donetsk and Lugansk, in Donbass (east).
Russia had already annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014.
Ukraine and the international community in general do not recognize Russian sovereignty in the annexed regions.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin formalized the annexation of the four regions on September 30, he threatened to use all means, including nuclear weapons, to defend Russia’s territorial integrity.
Russian troops occupied Kherson on March 2, but their control of the capital and the western bank of the Dnieper lasted 254 days, according to the independent Russian publication Novaya Gazeta.Europe.
The recapture of Kherson is considered one of the greatest successes of the Ukrainian forces in the war with Russia.
The counter-offensive was launched after Ukraine received weapons from its Western allies.
Source: DN
