Russia-Ukraine war: US hails ‘extraordinary victory’ for Ukraine in Kherson; Kyiv warns Moscow ‘mobilising more conscripts’ – live

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Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Saturday that the “war goes on” after the success of retaking the city of Kherson.

Speaking at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Cambodia, Kuleba said the fight to liberate the country would carry on.

“We are winning battles on the ground. But the war continues,” he told reporters in Phnom Penh.

Earlier, Kuleba said he understood that “everyone wants this war to end as soon as possible. We are definitely the ones who want that more than anyone else… But as long as the war continues, and we see Russia mobilising more conscripts and bringing more weapons to Ukraine, of course we will continue to count on your continued support”.

The White House on Saturday hailed what it said appeared to be an “extraordinary victory” for Ukraine in recapturing the city of Kherson from Russian occupiers, AFP reported.

“It does look as though the Ukrainians have just won an extraordinary victory where the one regional capital that Russia had seized in this war is now back under a Ukrainian flag – and that is quite a remarkable thing,” national security advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters as he accompanied president Joe Biden to the Asean summit in Cambodia.

Sullivan said that the Russian retreat would have “broader strategic implications,” including relieving the longer-term threat by Russia to other southern Ukrainian cities such as Odessa.

“It’s a big moment and it’s due to the incredible tenacity and skill of the Ukrainians, backed by the relentless and united support of the United States and our allies,” Sullivan said.

Hello and welcome to our continuing coverage of the war in Ukraine.

I’m Christine Kearney and I’ll be bringing you the latest developments. It’s about 9am in Kyiv, here’s where things stand:

Ukrainians in Kherson city are celebrating after the arrival of Ukrainian soldiers to recapture the city. In extraordinary scenes, jubilant crowds have been seenwelcoming soldiers in the southern Ukrainian city, after progress made by the armed forces in recent days continued. Ukrainian forces have liberated 41 settlements as they advanced through the south, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said.

A Ukrainian flag has been raised in Svobody Square, near the headquarters for the regional administration for the first time since the city fell to Russia on 2 March. Another is being flown outside the city’s national police headquarters.

Zelenskiy declared the city to be “ours” and that it was a “historic” day for the country, after Russia announced the completion of its withdrawal from the regional capital.In a statement on his Telegram page, he said that people in Kherson never gave up hope on Ukraine, adding: “Hope for Ukraine is always justified – and Ukraine always returns its own.”

A Ukrainian defence ministry spokesperson has told the BBC that Ukraine’s forces are almost in full control of Kherson.

Russia said more than 30,000 service personnel have been withdrawn to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River. The defence ministry said that its evacuation had been completed by 5am Moscow time on Friday. The ministry said there was no military hardware or soldiers left on the western side of the river.

However, reports have emerged of some Russian troops being left behind in Ukraine and changing into civilian clothes, or drowning trying to escape. The ministry of defence’s intelligence unit has urged Russian soldiers to surrender.

The White House on Saturday hailed what it said appeared to be an “extraordinary victory” for Ukraine in recapturing the city of Kherson from Russian occupiers, AFP reported.”It does look as though the Ukrainians have just won an extraordinary victory where the one regional capital that Russia had seized in this war is now back under a Ukrainian flag – and that is quite a remarkable thing,” national security advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters.

Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said Saturday that the “war goes on” after the success of retaking the city of Kherson. Speaking at a Southeast Asian summit in Cambodia, Kuleba said the fight to liberate the country would carry on: “We are winning battles on the ground. But the war continues,” he told reporters in Phnom Penh.

The Antonivskiy Bridge, the only nearby road crossing from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to the Russian-controlled eastern bank of the Dnieper River, has been blown up. There was significant new damage to the nearby major Nova Kakhovka dam after the withdrawal, US satellite imagery company Maxar said.

Ukraine’s prosecutor general is investigating three bodies that were found in Kherson region, who it suspected were victims of war crimes.

Russian attacks on electricity facilities are having a disproportionate effect on civilians in Ukraine, having an indiscriminate impact on critical functions such as healthcare and heating, according to the latest evaluation by the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

Ukraine is building a wall at its northern border with neighbour Belarus, a key ally of Russian president Vladimir Putin. The concrete wall is already 3km long.

Forty-five Ukrainian soldiers have been freed in a prisoner exchange with Russia and the bodies of two killed Ukrainian soldiers have also been repatriated, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office has said.

The United Nations has wrapped up talks for the week with Russian officials in Geneva, yet to finalise an agreement to export grain from Ukraine through the Black Sea.

The UN nuclear watchdog says an investigation of a research plant in the city of Kharkiv found it was badly damaged, but there were no signs of a radiological release or diversion of nuclear material.

German chancellor Olaf Scholz said Germany’s priority in its aid to Ukraine should be to help it defend itself from Russian air raids on its cities and to help it rebuild its infrastructure.