Ukrainian Troops Raise Flag in Kherson as Russian Troops Fall Back

Kyiv's armed forces appear to have raised flags in the key Ukrainian city of Kherson, after Russian troops retreated from the western portion of the southern region.

Ukrainian flags appeared at the city council building on Friday, after Kviv soldiers appeared to enter the city of Kherson, according to reports on social media.

Local publication Most reported that Kherson residents had flooded the streets to meet the military. Images published by the publication show residents covering themselves with the Ukrainian flag.

People could be seen at Kherson's Svoboda (Freedom) Square, where protests against Russian occupation were held this spring.

Some local media outlets reported that Ukrainian forces have already entered the city.

A Russian flag was pulled down from the administration building in Kherson just last week.

On November 3, Yuriy Sobolevskyi, the deputy head of Kherson's regional council, posted a photo on his Telegram channel saying that a Russian flag had been removed.

"Kherson Oblast State Administration. The photo was taken today. The mysterious disappearance of you know what ... Kherson was, is, and will be only Ukrainian. And if not us, you [Russian forces] will take off your rags [Russian flags]," he wrote.

Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots also confirmed the flag's absence.

The latest reports that Ukrainian flags are flying in the center of Kherson come after Sergey Surovikin, who became the new head of Russia's forces in Ukraine in October, said on Wednesday that his troops would be retreating across the Dnieper River to "preserve the lives of our soldiers and the combat capability of the troop group."

Russia's defense ministry claimed on Friday morning that all Russian soldiers had been moved across the Dnieper to the eastern bank. Ukrainian officials remain cautious, and say the process could take a week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a statement on Friday that so far, 41 Kherson settlements have been liberated as Kyiv conducts its southern counteroffensive.

"Today we have good news from the south. The number of Ukrainian flags returning to their rightful place in the framework of the ongoing defense operation is already dozens," the president said.

"Now we are all happy to see how the Ukrainians who remained in the occupied villages and cities meet our warriors," he added. "Many are now checking almost every hour where our units have reached and where else our national flag was raised."

Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told Reuters in an interview on Thursday evening that Russia would need at least a week to withdraw troops from the western bank of the Dnieper River.

According to him, Russia has 40,000 soldiers in the Kherson region.

Reznikov noted that Russian troops still remain in Kherson—around the city and on the west bank of the Dnieper—despite the fact that Moscow has announced a retreat.

"It is not so easy to withdraw these troops from Kherson in one or two days. As a minimum, (it will take) one week," he said, noting that Russia's actions can be unpredictable.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry for comment.