Ukraine has successfully reclaimed Kherson, which the Russian forces have occupied for eight months. Oleksii Reznikov, the minister of Ukraine's Defence, said that it would take a minimum of one week for Russia to pull out of Kherson city, also adding that Russia still has 40,000 troops in the region and intelligence remaining in and around the city.
 
Russia's Defense Ministry announced its troops would withdraw from the west bank of the Dnipro, including Kherson, the only regional capital Russia has captured since invading Ukraine in February. The General Staff of Ukraine's army said the Russian forces left the city ruined, leaving the power lines, houses, and roads damaged.  
 
Ukrainian officials, however, have not confirmed the city was back in Ukrainian hands. The spokesperson for the Ukraine military agency said, "an operation to liberate Kherson and the surrounding regions of the same name is underway, but it will be possible to talk about establishing Ukrainian control over the city only after an official report by the General Staff of the Ukrainian army."
 
According to military analysts, even if the pullout in Kherson is a major morale-boosting victory for Ukraine, there is no sign that Moscow is finished with what it calls "a special military operation" against its pro-Western neighbor.
 
"It is definitely a turning point, but it does not mean that Russia has lost or that Ukraine has won," said Ben Barry, a senior fellow for land warfare at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London.

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