The advancing Ukrainian troops entered Kherson City in the course of Friday, the British broadcaster BBC reported.
President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on the social messaging app Telegram: "Our people. Ours. Kherson," attaching a Ukraine flag emoji and video footage that seemed to show Ukrainian forces accompanied by inhabitants of the city, according to the BBC.
Zelensky later hailed Friday as a “historic day,” stressing that the residents of the strategic southern city, which had been in Russian hands since March, “never lost hope.”
The Ukrainian president took to Telegram to issue a statement, which is reproduced in full below, as cited by theguardian.com website:
“Today is a historic day. We are returning Kherson. As of now, our defenders are on the approaches to the city. But special units are already in the city.
The people of Kherson were waiting. They never gave up on Ukraine. Hope for Ukraine is always justified – and Ukraine always returns its own.
And even when the city is not yet completely cleansed of the enemy’s presence, the people of Kherson themselves are already removing Russian symbols from the streets and buildings and any traces of the occupiers’ stay in Kherson.
It was the same in all other cities liberated by our defenders. It will be the same in those cities that are still waiting for our return.
Ukraine will come to all its people.
And I thank every soldier and every unit of the defence forces who are making this offensive operation in the south possible now.
Absolutely everyone – from privates to generals.
The armed forces, intelligence, SBU, National Guard – all who brought today’s day closer for Kherson oblast.”
Friday is day 261 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm)
Source: bbc.com, theguardian.com, pravda.com.ua