KYIV (National Times) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday (Nov 11) said special units of the armed forces were already in the southern city of Kherson following Russia s withdrawal and described the moment as historic.

Joyous residents welcomed troops in the city centre after Russia abandoned the only regional capital it had captured since its invasion in February.

“Today is a historic day. We are getting the south of the country back, we are getting Kherson back,” Zelensky said in an evening video address.

“As of now, our defenders are on the outskirts of the city, and we are very close to entering. But special units are already in the city,” he continued.

Zelensky said that measures to make Kherson safe – in particular, efforts to remove what he called a lot of mines – would start as soon as possible.

He also said Ukrainian forces were strengthening their positions everywhere along the front, but did not give details.

OUTPOURING OF JOY

Residents of Kherson gathered in Kyiv s Maidan Square to celebrate the liberation of their home city – the first outpouring of joy in the capital in nearly nine months of war.

“My city, where I was born and where I ve lived my whole life, is finally free,” said 17-year-old Nastia Stepenska, her eyes welling with tears.

“When (the Russians) arrived, it was horrible. We didn t know what was going to happen the next day or if we d even still be alive,” the school student said, admitting she was in a state of shock.

“I ll go back when it s possible and it s safe,” said Stepenska. “Soon, I hope.”

The announcement that Ukrainian forces were entering Kherson sparked a rare flurry of joy in Kyiv, music in the streets and blaring car horns.

“BEST SURPRISE EVER”

Kherson inhabitants who left for Kyiv when Russian soldiers captured their city in March began converging on Maidan Square at 7:00pm, draped in flags, popping champagne corks and hugging each other.

“I didn t believe it at first. I thought it would take weeks or months, a few hundred metres at a time. And in just one day, they ve made it into Kherson. It s the best surprise ever,” said 41-year-old Artem Lukiv.

“I told my kids, That s it. We ve been liberated, and we all started crying,” he said, hugging his two children and a Ukrainian flag at the same time.

Under the square s victory column commemorating Ukraine s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Kherson s displaced residents belted out the national anthem in unison and wiped their tears.

Then they chanted the numbers of the first Ukrainian army brigades to enter Kherson – the first major urban hub to fall to the Russians and the first to be taken back.

“We re really happy … Our soldiers are gods,” Lukiv said.

“We ve been waiting for this for nine months. Kherson belongs to Ukraine and it always will.”