Russia has reportedly started withdrawing its troops from the city of Kherson and the western bank of the Dnieper River.

In a live broadcast on Russian television, in front of the Russian defense minister, the commander of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, General Sergey Surovikin, said that it was pointless for the soldiers to remain on the western bank of the river and that some of them could be used on other fronts. The retreat was undertaken as a result of the intensive advance of the Ukrainian armed forces towards Kherson. Before that, about 100,000 residents were evacuated to the eastern bank of the river.

The Russian general also reported that so far more than 115,000 citizens of Kherson have already left the city area. According to Surovikin, the withdrawing units from the western bank of the Dnieper will occupy fortified positions on the eastern bank of the river.

"Until the Ukrainian flag is flying over the city of Kherson, it makes no sense to talk about a Russian withdrawal," Mykhailo Podolyak, who is adviser to the Ukrainian president, said and added that Ukraine did not trust Russian statements on television.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that the main bridge on the way out of Kherson was blown up and completely collapsed into the waters of the Ingulets River. It is not yet known who destroyed the bridge. According to Oleg Zhdanov, a Ukrainian military analyst quoted by Reuters, there is a possibility that the bridge was destroyed by Ukrainian forces in order to isolate Russian forces on both sides of the river.