The withdrawal from the city of Kherson is a major setback for Russia -- it is the only regional capital Russian forces had seized during the eight-month war.
Villages and towns in Ukraine saw more heavy fighting and shelling Wednesday as Ukrainian and Russian forces strained to advance on different fronts after more than 8 1/2 months of war.
Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Kherson region's Kremlin-appointed administration, said in a Telegram post that the Ukrainian army had "gained a foothold" along a railway line in Snihurivka's north. In a separate post, he claimed Russian forces had repulsed the Ukrainian advance. Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reiterated that the return of all occupied territory was a condition for any peace talks with Russia. The Kremlin is unlikely to give up its internationally unrecognized claim to the regions annexed in September or to Crimea, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014.
"Attacks on civilian infrastructure are war crimes in themselves. The Kremlin is at war with Ukrainian civilians, trying to leave millions of people without water and light to freeze in the winter," Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko said on Ukrainian TV.
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