Kherson has been under Russian control since the early days of the invasion of Ukraine. As Kyiv's forces advance, the AP explains what a retreat from the city would mean for Russia.
in a bid to cement Moscow’s grip.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alleged the dam already was mined by Russia and urged world leaders to make clear to the Kremlin that blowing it up would “mean exactly the same as the use of weapons of mass destruction.”A retreat from Kherson and other areas on the Dnieper’s west bank would shatter Russian hopes to press an offensive west to Mykolaiv and Odesa to cut off Ukraine’s access to the Black Sea. Such a move would deal a devastating blow to its economy.
“Ukraine just needs to wait until Kherson falls into its hands like a ripe apple, because the situation with supplies for the Russian group of forces keeps exacerbating by the day,” Zhdanov said.Ukraine hopes to quickly double the number of U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers that could strike targets 80 kilometers away with a deadly precision, he said.“After the deoccupation of Kherson, the Russians will again have problems with fresh water in Crimea,” Zhdanov added.
Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Kyiv-based Penta Center independent think tank, noted that capturing all the Kherson region and other southern areas would be a prize for Russia and their loss would have painful consequences for Putin at home and abroad.