The order to withdraw was issued in a televised announcement by Russia’s Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Shoigu made the decision after Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who is in overall command of the war, reported that “Kherson cannot be fully supplied and function.”
The Russian defence minister ordered his troops to retreat from the west bank of the Dnipro river in the face of Ukrainian attacks.
'Russians can be expected to come up with all manner of deceit'
Paweł Szrot, chief of staff to Polish President Andrzej Duda, said on Wednesday night he had notified the Polish head of state of the developments around Kherson.
Szrot told public broadcaster Polish Radio: “The president has received the news with absolute calm and cautioned against enthusiasm. The Russians can be expected to come up with all manner of deceit and provocations.”
The Polish presidential official added: “I believe that the heroic Ukrainian soldiers and the authorities of their country are prepared for this, too.”
Retreat from Kherson shows Russian army has ‘real problems’: Biden
US President Joe Biden has said that Russia's decision to withdraw from Kherson City shows its army has "some real problems," British broadcaster BBC has reported.
Biden added the withdrawal would allow both sides to recalibrate their positions over the winter, but it remained to be seen whether Ukraine was prepared to compromise with Russia, according to the Reuters news agency.
The US president said there was no evidence that Vladimir Putin was ready to enter into talks with Ukraine, the PAP news agency reported.
Biden was speaking in the wake of midterm elections in which his Democratic Party looked set to lose control of the House of Representatives to the opposition Republican Party.
However, Biden said he hoped the "bipartisan approach of confronting Russia's aggression in Ukraine" would continue, according to the BBC.
Ukrainian forces moving ‘step by step’: Zelensky
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country’s troops were advancing and strengthening their positions in southern Ukraine.
In a video address to the nation on Wednesday night, Zelensky said: “South. We are moving gradually, strengthening our positions step by step.
"There is a lot of joy in the media space today, and it is clear why. But our emotions must be restrained – always during war.”
He added: “I will definitely not feed the enemy with all the details of our operations, either in the south, or in the east, or anywhere else. When we have our result, everyone will see it. For sure.”
Zelensky stressed: “The enemy does not bring us gifts, does not make ‘gestures of goodwill.’ We fight our way up. And when you are fighting, you must understand that every step is always resistance from the enemy, it is always the loss of the lives of our heroes.”
“Therefore, we move very carefully, without emotions, without unnecessary risk. In the interests of the liberation of our entire land and so that the losses are as small as possible,” he stated.
'We see no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight'
Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelensky, said in a statement to the Reuters news agency: “Until the Ukrainian flag is flying over Kherson, it makes no sense to talk about a Russian withdrawal.”
He later added in a tweet: “We see no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight.”
Thursday is day 260 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
pm/gs
Source: PAP, Reuters, bbc.com, president.gov.ua