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.<\/p>\n
Joyous residents welcomed troops in the city centre after Russia abandoned the only regional capital it had captured since its invasion in February.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
He also said Ukrainian forces were strengthening their positions everywhere along the front, but did not give details.<\/p>\n
OUTPOURING OF JOY<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“I ll go back when it s possible and it s safe,” said Stepenska. “Soon, I hope.”<\/p>\n
The announcement that Ukrainian forces were entering Kherson sparked a rare flurry of joy in Kyiv, music in the streets and blaring car horns.<\/p>\n
“BEST SURPRISE EVER”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“We re really happy … Our soldiers are gods,” Lukiv said.<\/p>\n
“We ve been waiting for this for nine months. Kherson belongs to Ukraine and it always will.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48433,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48430","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n