3:18pm ET, March 23, 2023
Ukraine says it misreported Russia’s withdrawal in Kherson as Moscow criticized Kyiv over the report
By Tim Lister and Olga Voitovych of CNN
Ukraine’s military on Thursday quickly retracted claims that Russian forces had pulled out of a strategically important city in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region, as Moscow-backed leaders ridiculed Kiev over the report.
The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces initially said in an update on Thursday that all Russian military units had withdrawn from the town of Nova Kakhovka on the east bank of the Dnipro River.
It would have been a significant development as it would have been the first East Bank settlement of any size seized by Ukraine since Russian troops were driven out of Kherson and the capture of the West Bank last November. However, the General Staff later retracted the claim, writing in a statement on Facebook: “The occupiers are still temporarily staying in Nova Kakhovka. The information about the alleged enemy withdrawal from this settlement was published due to misuse of available data.”
Russia criticized the report: At the time of Ukraine’s withdrawal, Russian-appointed officials and military bloggers had already been vocal in denying Ukraine’s claims of a military withdrawal from Nova Kakhovka.
Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-appointed head of the occupied Kherson region, said: “All Russian military personnel in Nova Kakhovka, as well as other locations on the east bank of the Dnipro River, remain in their positions.”
Saldo theorized that the allegation was related to the recent visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the region, which he said had a “weak PR effect”.
Vladimir Leontyev, the Russian-backed leader in Nova Kakhovka, also said the claim was false, calling it “misinformation” and the work of propagandists.
Russian military correspondent Aleksandr Kots mocked the report on Telegram.
Recent developments in the field: While Russia has fortified many settlements on the east bank of the river near Kherson, the settlements closest to the Dnipro have faced frequent attacks from Ukraine, including attacks by special forces.
Nova Kakhovka is a notable area to guard during the fighting as it is the site of a major hydroelectric power project and the entrance to a canal supplying Crimea with fresh water from the Dnipro River.
According to unofficial social media reports, explosions rocked the city last weekend, and a fire broke out near or in the city’s granary.
Some Telegram channels said a fuel depot was set on fire along with Russian military equipment. These accounts could not be verified.
In mid-March, Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that Ukrainian troops launched a massive artillery attack on Nova Kakhovka’s Sokol neighborhood, killing a woman and damaging houses, shops and power lines.