The Kremlin insisted on Monday that Kherson is still part of Russia after Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky visited the southern city from which Moscow troops withdrew last week.
“We leave this without comment,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said of Zelensky’s visit to Kherson, but added, “This territory is part of the Russian Federation.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Kherson on Monday. Ukraine’s presidency released footage of the president singing the national anthem with his hand on his chest as the country’s blue and yellow flag was hoisted next to the city’s main administrative building.
“It’s important to be here,” said Zelensky, in declassified footage of his encounter with Kherson residents and military personnel.
The city of Kherson was the only regional capital occupied by Russian forces in the more than eight-month war in Ukraine, which began on February 24 with a Russian invasion of Ukrainian territory.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak were cautious in both statements. Sunak contacted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today, and his office said both agreed “on the need to remain cautious until the Ukrainian flag is raised in the city.”
Source: DN
