November 10, 2022 Russia-Ukraine news

We’ve wrapped up our live coverage for today. You can read more on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine here, or scroll through the updates below.

Ukraine has claimed big wins in its southern counteroffensive this week,?but Kyiv remains concerned?that retreating Russian soldiers could turn the regional capital of Kherson into a “city of death” on their way out.

If you’re just joining us, here’s what you need to know in today’s Russia-Ukraine news:

Hackers linked to Russia’s military were very likely behind ransomware attacks last month on Ukrainian and Polish transportation and logistics organizations, Microsoft said Thursday.?

The revelation will raise concerns in Washington and European capitals that allies supporting Ukraine against Russia’s invasion could face greater cyber threats from Moscow.?

Poland is a NATO member and a key conduit for supplying military aid to Ukraine.?

Microsoft attributed the hacks to a group that the Justice Department alleges works on behalf of Russia’s GRU military intelligence agency and which caused power blackouts in parts of Ukraine in 2015 and 2016.?

One of Ukraine’s main cybersecurity agencies, the State Special Communications Service, declined to comment.?

It’s a rare public example of an alleged Russian hack related to the war causing damage in a NATO member country.?

During Russia’s invasion, in February, another suspected Russian hack wiped data at two Ukrainian government contractors with a presence in Latvia and Lithuania, but that was widely seen among analysts as collateral damage rather than deliberate.?

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said a cyberattack could trigger NATO’s collective defense clause, requiring all members to defend an attack on another member. But that has never happened, and it is unclear what exactly NATO’s threshold in cyberspace is for a response.

A NATO spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.?

The GRU-linked ransomware attacks signal “increased risk to organizations directly supplying or transporting humanitarian or military assistance to Ukraine,” researchers from Microsoft, which has worked directly with the Ukrainian government to respond to the hacks, said in a statement.?

The Russian embassy in Washington, DC, did not respond to a request for comment on Microsoft’s statement. Moscow routinely denies conducting cyberattacks.??

Russian hacking groups have carried out a slew of cyberattacks during the war on Ukrainian government and corporate networks in activity that sometimes overlaps with Russia military strikes. But the kind of high-impact hack that takes out power or other critical networks has largely been missing.

Russian hacking has played a peripheral, rather than central, role in the Kremlin’s efforts to dismantle Ukrainian critical infrastructure, US and Ukrainian officials previously told CNN.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said more than 41 settlements in southern Ukraine have been liberated following the Russian decision to withdraw to the eastern side of the Dnipro river.

Zelensky used his daily video address to congratulate several units involved in the advance through the southern Kherson region.

He added, “Everything that is happening now has been achieved through months of fierce struggle. Achieved by courage, pain and losses. It is not the enemy that is leaving. It is Ukrainians who are chasing the occupiers at great cost.”

Zelensky said police units had moved into several settlements in Kherson to begin stabilization measures, but the liberation of Ukrainian territory was just the first step in a long process.

“The first and basic thing is de-mining. The occupiers leave behind thousands of mines and unexploded ammunition. I have often heard estimates that clearing Ukraine of Russian mines will take decades. We cannot wait that long,” the Ukrainian president said.

“The invaders mine everything: power lines, business enterprises, fields, forests,” he said. “At the peak of mine contamination in Ukraine, we had 300,000 square kilometers of life-threatening territory.”

Now, he said, thanks to the efforts of sappers, “there are about 170,000 square kilometers left for demining. In particular, this is in the most difficult places - where the fighting is still ongoing, where the enemy will add more mines before its withdrawal, as it is now in Kherson.”

Zelensky thanked the dozen countries assisting in de-mining. He also alluded to Ukraine’s goals in the conflict.

“We have to go all the way — on the battlefield and in diplomacy — so that our flags, Ukrainian flags, and never again any enemy tricolors are on our entire land, within our internationally recognized border,” he said.

Zelensky also thanked the Netherlands and the United States for fresh infusions of aid — about $100 million from the Netherlands and a new package of military assistance from the US. “Important means of air defense. Just what we need, what we asked for,” he said

Officials in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic, in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, say their forces have taken a village after fierce fighting there this week.

The Moscow-backed leader Denis Pushilin said the?village of Pavlivka “is almost 90% cleared.”

“The flag is already hoisted,” Pushilin said. “It was given to us at great cost.”

Video was also published on a pro-Russian Telegram channel showing the DPR’s Interior Minister, General Aleksey Dikiy, visiting the village and awarding medals to fighters in the Republic’s militia.

Some background: The battle for Pavlivka took on a higher profile earlier this week when soldiers in one Russian unit wrote a letter of protest to their regional governor in Russia, complaining about poor leadership and tactics.?

“As a result of the ‘carefully’ planned offensive by the ‘great commanders,’ we lost about 300 men, dead and wounded, with some MIA over the past four days,” the letter said.

Video from the area in recent days has shown widespread destruction.

Ukraine has not acknowledged that Pavlivka is held by Russian forces, and CNN cannot independently confirm Russia’s claim.

The State Department is “aware of reports that Russia has ordered the deportation of a US citizen,” spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday, but did not offer further details.

Reuters?reported Thursday that a Russian court ordered that American Sarah Krivanek be held for 30 days before being deported. She had reportedly been detained for nearly 11 months on domestic assault charges.

Brittney Griner arrives to a hearing at the Khimki Court, outside Moscow on June 27.

US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Thursday the United States “did not receive a heads up” that WNBA star Brittney Griner was being transferred to a penal colony in Russia.

“It has unfortunately become standard practice on the part of the Russian Federation not to inform us ahead of time when American citizen detainees are transferred from one detention center to another,” he said at a press briefing.

“We are also engaging to do all that we can to ensure that her conditions are as safe as healthy as can be during this time,” Price said. “That is something that we do for all detained American citizens in Russia and really around the world.”

Price said that discussions with the Russians to secure the release of Griner and Paul Whelan, another American detained in Russia, are ongoing. He noted that “this process has not moved as quickly as we would have liked.”

“The fact is that the Russians have not taken an approach to date that we think is sufficient,” he said. “We have continued to press them to engage seriously and in good faith on the original proposal that we put forward, the alternatives we put forward, we have continued to look for ways to secure as quickly as possible to release of Paul Whelan and Brittney Griner.”

Also on Thursday, while the White House would not give an update on Griner’s condition, citing confidentiality, the administration said that President Joe Biden is “personally engaged” on working for her return to the US.?

“I have to protect the confidentiality of our dealings with her family and some of our consular dealings with Russian officials,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. “But I will tell you on a daily basis, our embassy in Moscow is focused on ensuring that they are on top of Brittney Griner’s condition, location and how the Russian government is treating her.”

“We are dealing with the Russians at very senior levels and our diplomats on the ground are working overtime to ensure that they are staying in close touch with their Russian counterparts on her case,” Sullivan added.

CNN’s Nikki Carvajal contributed reporting to this post.

US announces new security aid package for Ukraine, national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at a press briefing at the White House, on Thursday, November 10.

The Biden administration authorized an additional $400 million in?security?aid for Ukraine on Thursday.

The new package includes missiles for HAWK and Avenger air defense systems, more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), grenade launchers, mortar and artillery rounds, and other battlefield supplies.

The package marks the 25th time the US has sent security assistance to Ukraine using presidential drawdown authority. The Defense Department pulls the weapons and equipment from US inventories to send abroad, instead of purchasing new weapons from manufacturers.

The new aid comes as Ukraine claims big wins in its southern counteroffensive.?But Kyiv remains concerned?that retreating Russian soldiers could turn the regional capital of Kherson into a “city of death” on their way out.

CNN’s Tim Lister and Mick Krever contributed to this report.

Ukraine’s Stugna volunteer military unit on Thursday paid tribute to a British man who the battalion said had died fighting against Russian forces alongside the Ukrainians in occupied territories.

“A man of goodwill, a brave British man, Simon Lingard, died in the Donetsk oblast. A true warrior who left Britain in the most challenging time for Ukraine and came to fight against Russian evil together with our soldiers,” the battalion said in a post on its Telegram account.

The all-volunteer infantry military unit said they met Lingard in the spring in the Kharkiv region, but later their military units split up in different directions of the frontline.??

“The last time we spoke with Simon was just a few days before his death. Our fighters from the ‘Stugna’ Battalion accidentally met with him in Zaporizhzhia and even planned to work together again,” the batallion said, adding that they will “avenge” his death.

“Our condolences to Simon’s wife and their children and to all the people of the United Kingdom. We will never forget what Simon Lingard did for us,” the unit said.??

The UK government said on Wednesday that a British man had lost his life in Ukraine.

In a statement, the UK Foreign Office said that it was “supporting the family of a British national who has lost his life in Ukraine,” but did not reveal the person’s name.

The office added that it was in touch with “the local authorities in connection with his death.”??

In June, former British Army soldier Jordan Gatley was shot and killed while fighting in Ukraine’s Severodonetsk, CNN reported at the time.?

British aid worker Paul Urey died in the Donetsk region of Ukraine earlier this year after the Russian invasion started, CNN has reported.

Russian tank tracks and a Ukrainian soldier are seen in Kherson, Ukraine on November 9,?

Ukrainian officials said it is difficult to make contact with civilians in the city of Kherson, which is without any internet connection as Russian forces withdraw to the opposite bank of the Dnipro River.

Halyna Lugova, the head of the Kherson city military administration, described the situation in the city as “tense and difficult.”

“There is no Internet connection in the city, hence people with whom I communicate have not been in touch since yesterday (Wednesday),” she said.

She said people in the city were living in fear:?

Lugova said that “people can feel the presence of Russians in the city. There seem to be no (Russian) checkpoints, but people see that the occupiers are in the city,” Lugova added.

Lugova said Russian troops were still removing looted equipment from the city on Wednesday night.

“There were trucks, heavy equipment and cars stolen from civilians heading from Snihurivka (a town on the Mykolaiv/Kherson border) towards Antonivskyi bridge,” she said.

Lugova said there is no fuel in the city and only partial heating, water and power supply.

She described a city where goods were being bartered in street bazaars amid chronic shortages.

“The medicine supply is insufficient. This is especially true for medicines for diabetics and cancer patients,” she said.

Sweden will continue discussions with Turkey to overcome objections raised by Ankara over Stockholm’s bid to join the NATO alliance, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom?said Thursday.

”Sweden is working diligently towards a quick?and seamless?entry into NATO,” Billstrom told reporters in Berlin, following a meeting with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.

While all 30 NATO members formally?invited Sweden and Finland to join the alliance after approving their applications back in summer, Turkey and Hungary have yet to ratify the accession protocol.

Finland, Sweden and Turkey signed a joint memorandum in June, when Helsinki and Stockholm committed to address Ankara’s security concerns around terrorism and arms exports.

Billstrom said that dialogue would continue ”on all levels” and that he would go to Turkey this autumn, while in the meantime, talks between authorities in Sweden, Turkey and Finland would continue.

Baerbock said that Berlin sent a clear signal to Hungary, saying that there is ”no gray area” in the terms of ratification of Sweden and Finland’s accession to NATO.

”For all our security — not only for Finland and Sweden — but for our European security, it is important that these ratifications are carried out together by the end of the year, ” she said.

Ukraine’s military said it had retaken swathes of territory in?Kherson?on Thursday after Moscow ordered a partial withdrawal from the area, though officials in Kyiv warned that retreating Russian soldiers could turn the regional capital into a “city of death” on their way out.

A military spokesperson said that in just 24 hours, Ukrainian forces had pushed the front line in the key southern region of Kherson forward by 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) and taken control of more than 260 square kilometers of territory (100 square miles). Kyiv said it took control of the towns of Snihurivka and Kyselivka, both of which sit along key roads leading into Kherson city, the regional capital. Kyselivka is located about 15 kilometers (9 miles) away from Kherson city.

Moscow on Wednesday said its troops would?withdraw from the west bank of the Dnipro River, an area that includes Kherson city, in one of the biggest military setbacks for Russia since its invasion began. A spokesperson for the Russian Defense Ministry said that effort began the following day.

Officials in Kyiv, however, have treated the announcement with skepticism. Kherson is one of four Ukrainian regions that Russia attempted to annex in violation of international law, and some doubt that Moscow would give up fighting for a territory filled with people that Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed would be Russian citizens?“forever.”

Ukrainian officials are also concerned that the Russian military will embrace scorched-earth tactics and leave behind a trail of devastation in the wake of their withdrawal. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, alleged Thursday that Russia “wants to turn Kherson into a ‘city of death.’”

Ukrainian military spokesperson Vladyslav Nazarov said Russian forces were continuing to shell areas recaptured by the Ukrainian military and attempted to strike humanitarian aid distribution points.

However, signs of the retreat have begun to emerge. Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Washington had seen the “beginnings” of a Russian withdrawal in Kherson. Satellite imagery taken last week of Russian-occupied Crimea showed trenches being dug near the border with Kherson, a possible sign that Russian military leaders are nervous about the progress of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.

KHERSON OBLAST, UKRAINE - NOVEMBER 09: Ukrainian Armed Forces' military mobility continue toward Kherson front in Ukraine on November 9, 2022. Ukrainian army continue to support its units in Kherson as Russia-Ukraine war continues. (Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Related article Ukraine claims big gains in south, but fears retreating Russians will turn Kherson into 'city of death' | CNN

UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on Thursday expressed caution about Moscow ordering a partial withdrawal from occupied parts of Ukraine’s Kherson region, saying “we’ll believe it when we see it,” according to PA media.??

He added that it would be a “significant psychological blow” for Russian troops if they left the area, PA reported.??

“Of course, this is Russia, so we haven’t yet seen them leave en masse,” Wallace said.??

A destroyed building in a village near the newly recaptured city of Snihurivka, in?the Mykolaiv?region, Ukraine, on November 10.

As Russian forces partially withdraw in the Kherson region, Ukrainian authorities in neighboring Mykolaiv are hoping for some respite from the persistent missile attacks that have hit the city over the past few months.

Vitalii Kim, head of Mykolaiv regional administration, said on his Telegram channel that there is “lots of good news for today. We are preparing to reconnect electricity, heat, humanitarian aid kits, medicines, etc.”

The last few settlements in the Mykolaiv region occupied by the Russians have now been liberated, but Kim said,?“We continue to remain silent, because it is all the military’s business.”?

No groups or journalists would be allowed to visit liberated villages, he said.

Kim also had a message for people who had left the now-liberated town of Snihurivka: “Do not rush to return, it is too early.”

An image from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol shows smoke clouding the evening skyline.

The Ukrainian mayor of the city,?Ivan Fedorov, said on Telegram that there were “4 loud explosions that the whole city heard.”

Fedorov, who is not in Melitopol himself, said, “we are clarifying the details.”

The city has been occupied by the Russians since the early days of the invasion but in recent months, military targets and railroads have been regularly attacked by long-range Ukrainian artillery.?

A destroyed Russian tank in the outskirts of Ivanivka, a liberated village in the Kherson region, Ukraine, on November 9.

The Russian-appointed “head” of Kherson vowed on Thursday to defend all territory of the region, despite Russia’s decision to transfer its troops to the east bank of the Dnipro River, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.??

“Yes, it’s hard for us now, but still we will defend our land. Our land in the Kherson region, all its territory, all its people will definitely be part of the Russian Federation,”?Vladimir?Saldo?in a video address shared with RIA Novosti.?

Despite Saldo’s claims, a number of social media videos from the west bank of the Kherson region found by CNN show that Ukrainian troops are advancing and appear to be encountering little resistance.?

Saldo added that the situation in the region is now turbulent, and Russian leadership is forced to make “difficult decisions,” adding that “justice will be restored, because it is worth fighting for.”?

On Thursday, the deputy head of the Russian-installed Kherson regional administration, Ekaterina Gubareva, told RIA that civilians retain the opportunity to leave from the west-bank part of the Kherson region, despite the organized departure already being stopped.?

CNN’s Tim Lister?contributed reporting to this post.

The Hagglunds Bv410 IRIS-T platform, equipped to shoot air defence missiles from the ground, pictured here in 2018 in Berlin, Germany.

Germany on Thursday pledged to send additional military support to Ukraine, including three crucial IRIS-T SLM air defense systems and IRIS-T missile, according to a?statement?published by the German government.

Kyiv appealed for more German IRIS-T SLM units in late October following days of heavy attacks by Russian missiles. German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier described the high-tech IRIS-T SLM as “one of the most modern air defense systems in the world” during a visit to Ukraine in late October.

Germany has already delivered one IRIS-T SLM air-to-air missile system to Ukraine.?

Berlin also said it would supply Kyiv with 42 mine-clearing tanks; four mobile and protected mine-clearing systems; four mobile, remote-controlled and protected mine-clearing systems; and five mobile reconnaissance systems on vehicles, according to the German government’s statement.

The German government did not provide dates of delivery until after handing over the armaments and supplies, the statement said.

Germany also announced it had over the past week delivered to Kyiv an unspecified number of IRIS-T SLM missiles, 30 armored infantry mobility vehicles (DINGO), four additional anti-drone sensors and jammers, five tank transporter tractor M1070 Oshkosh units, and one additional lift truck.

Julia Kesaieva?contributed reporting to this post.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ Operational Command South said Russian forces are regrouping in Kherson and “taking measures to partially withdraw troops to the east bank of the Dnipro.”

Spokesperson Vladyslav Nazarov confirmed Ukrainian advances, saying that “over the past day, our troops at the junction of Kherson and Mykolaiv regions moved the front line by 7 kilometers [about 4 miles]. They liberated almost 260 square kilometers [about 100 square miles] of territory and 12 settlements.”

But the Operational Command warned that Russian forces “continue to shell the liberated territories and deep rear areas.”

It said that on Thursday morning, Russian troops shelled the recently liberated village of Zolota Balka in northeastern Kherson.?

“They tried to hit the humanitarian aid distribution points and administrative buildings of the authorities. Private yards were damaged,” it added.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley speaks during a media conference after a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on October 12.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said the US is seeing the “beginnings” of Russian forces withdrawing from Kherson.

“You are seeing the withdrawal of Russian forces out of Kherson. We’re seeing the beginnings of that. It was announced yesterday by [Russian] Defense Minister [Sergey] Shoigu. So that’s happening,” Milley said in an interview on CNBC.

On Wednesday, Russian state media said that Shoigu had ordered a withdrawal of Russian forces from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region.

Milley said the Ukrainians have fought the Russian military “to a standstill.”

His comments came after ringing the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

Social media video emerging from the Kherson region in southern Ukraine shows Ukrainian troops moving into several villages — some heavily damaged — and examining what appear to be piles of ammunition boxes left behind by Russian soldiers.

In the village of Bruskynske in northern Kherson, soldiers received an emotional welcome from several elderly residents who appear to have stayed through the occupation. The civilians told soldiers that the Russians had killed six people through shelling and others had died?during the occupation of the village, which lasted for at least six months.?

A soldier then warned the civilians that “the military situation is uncertain, the [Russians] are pulling out and will be shelling [the village].”

Another video showed civilians turning out to greet soldiers arriving in the village of Pavlivka on the border of the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions.

Ukrainian soldiers also appeared with a flag at the town hall in Kyselivka, only about 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) from Kherson city on the Dnipro River.

The videos are from a wide range of places, from Stanislav — which is close to the Black Sea — to a broad arc more than 200 kilometers (about 124 miles) north and east.?They indicate the Ukrainians are taking territory on several fronts on the west bank of Kherson region simultaneously, apparently encountering little resistance.

The Ukrainian progress through Kherson follows the decision announced Wednesday by the Russian military to pull its forces back to the east bank of the Dnipro.

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have agreed it was correct “to continue to exercise caution until the Ukrainian flag was raised” over the city of Kherson, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.

The two leaders spoke over the phone Thursday morning, according to Downing Street.

According to a readout, Sunak confirmed that the UK would continue to provide military aid to Ukraine, including “another 1,000 surface-to-air missiles and more than 25,000 extreme cold winter kits for troops.”

The leaders also agreed that Russia must be “prevented from blocking vital supplies of Ukrainian grain and fertilizer reaching global markets.”

Zelensky said in a tweet after the call that the pair had discussed “the multifaceted defense support for Ukraine and assistance in enduring the winter period.”

The US observed Russian naval vessels preparing for a possible test of a new nuclear-powered torpedo in recent weeks, a senior US official with direct knowledge told CNN.

Among the vessels which took part in the preparations was the?Belgorod, a cruise missile submarine?modified for special operations that is able to launch unmanned underwater vehicles including the Poseidon torpedo.

In the last week, the vessels were observed leaving the testing area in the Arctic Sea and heading back to port without carrying out a test. The US believes the Russians may have encountered technical difficulties.

US officials said Russia could attempt to test the torpedo again but note the waters in the testing area will soon begin to ice over, limiting the window for operations.

The Poseidon torpedo is a nuclear-powered unmanned underwater vehicle capable of carrying both conventional and nuclear munitions. Its nuclear propulsion system gives the Poseidon virtually limitless range.

The US does not believe any test would have involved detonating a nuclear device. Any potential danger would come from a malfunction of the nuclear propulsion system, which could pose risks from radioactivity.

Read more below:

The Belgorod nuclear-powered submarine, pictured in 2019.

Related article US observed Russian navy preparing for possible test of nuclear-powered torpedo

Ukrainian troops on Thursday entered the formerly Russian-occupied town of Kyselivka in the Kherson region, according to video on social media geolocated by CNN.

“Kyselivka is ours,” one soldier says in the video. “We’re going in. The enemy has just run away. Glory to Ukraine!”

Videos show soldiers from Ukraine’s 28th Brigade posing in front of town signs.

Kyselivka is around 15 kilometers (about 9 miles) northwest of Kherson city, along the main road from Ukrainian-held Mykolaiv.

Russian trenches in northern?Crimea, Ukraine, on November 5.

Satellite imagery taken last week shows new trenches being dug near the town of Armiansk in northern Crimea, near the border with Ukraine’s Kherson region.

An image captured by Planet Labs PBC on Nov. 5 shows a trench being dug in a field where just one week earlier, on Oct. 29, there was none.

Northern?Crimea, Ukraine, on October 29.

Russia digging new trenches in northern Crimea suggests that military leaders may be nervous about a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Kherson region east of the Dnipro River, and south from Zaporizhzhia toward Russian-occupied Melitopol.

Russian forces have announced their withdrawal from the west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson region in what represents a dramatic strategic setback. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials are skeptical of Russia’s plans and Zelensky said Ukrainian troops would proceed carefully towards Kherson city.

Here are the latest headlines:

Russian troops in Ukraine’s occupied Kherson region are conducting their announced withdrawal to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, according to military spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

“In the Mykolaiv-Kryvyi Rih direction, units of the Russian group of troops are maneuvering to prepared positions on the left bank of the Dnipro river, in strict accordance with the approved plan,” Konashenkov said Thursday during his daily briefing.

Ukrainian officials have expressed skepticism about Russia’s withdrawal announcement.

Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said Thursday that he could “neither confirm nor deny” that the withdrawal was taking place, and that “we keep conducting offensive operations in accordance with our plan.”

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii?Zaluzhnyi in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 19.

The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s military said Thursday that Russia “was left with no other option but to resort to fleeing” in the Kherson region.

“Significant efforts of our military are behind the so-called ‘goodwill gesture’ of the enemy,” Valerii Zaluzhnyi?said on Twitter.

“Just as the enemy retreated from Kyiv and Kharkiv oblast, abandoned Zmiinyi (Snake) Island, the likely pullout from Kherson are the outcome of our active operations.”

In the past day alone, Zaluzhnyi said that Ukraine had liberated hundreds of square kilometers of territory in the push towards occupied Kherson city.

“Only during the past day along Petropavlivka–Novoraisk axis, [Ukrainian] Defence Forces advanced 7km, retook control over 6 settlements, 107 sq km of [Ukrainian]?territory,” he said. “Along Pervomaiske–Kherson axis, we advanced 7km, retook control over 6 settlements, the area of liberated territory is 157 sq km.”

Zaluzhnyi said that in Ukraine’s counter-offensive towards occupied Kherson, its forces have “destroyed the logistic lines & support system, disrupted the enemy’s command & control system.”

Nonetheless, he expressed skepticism that Russia would voluntarily withdraw from all of the Kherson region west of the Dnipro River.

“As of now, we can neither confirm nor deny the information about the so-called withdrawal of?[Russian] occupational troops from Kherson,” he said. “We keep conducting offensive operations in accordance with our plan.”

A couple of women walk past a destroyed building in Arkhanhelske, Kherson, after the recent withdrawal of Russian troops, November 9.

A senior Ukrainian official has added to the chorus of caution from Kyiv about Russia’s stated intention to withdraw from Kherson west of the Dnipro River.

Russia “wants to turn Kherson into a ‘city of death,’” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser in the Office of the Ukrainian President,?said on Twitter on Thursday.

“Ru-military mines everything they can: apartments, sewers. Artillery on the left [eastern] bank plans to turn the city into ruins. This is what ‘Russian world’ looks like: came, robbed, celebrated, killed ‘witnesses,’ left ruins and left,” he said.

Were Russia to withdraw from the city of Kherson, the settlement would still be well within artillery range of the Russian military on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.

On Wednesday, Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for the Ukrainian armed forces in the south, stressed the need for “media silence” as operations continue in Kherson region.

Humeniuk added that all information “has to be perceived critically,” an apparent reference to the Russian announcement that troops will be withdrawn from the west bank of Kherson.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky delivers his nightly address from Kyiv, Ukraine, on November 9.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky says that Ukraine will “move very?carefully, without emotions, without unnecessary risk,” in the light of Russia’s announcement that it is withdrawing its troops from part of Kherson region.?

Zelensky struck a note of caution that has been echoed by senior government officials following Moscow’s claim that it will retreat from the west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson.

“No one just leaves if they do not feel strong. The enemy does not give us gifts, does not make ‘gestures of goodwill’. We fight for it,” Zelensky said in his daily video message.

“And when you fight, you must understand that every step is always the enemy’s resistance, it is always the loss of lives of our heroes.”

“We are gradually moving to the south, strengthening our positions. Step by step,” Zelensky said. “But our emotions must be restrained – always during the war.?I will definitely not feed the enemy with all the details of our operations. Whether in the south, or in the east, or anywhere else – when our result is achieved, everyone will see it.”?

A Ukrainian tank heads toward the Kherson front on November 9.

The Ukrainian military has recaptured Snihurivka, a town in the southern Mykolaiv region that lies on the main road to the Russian-occupied city of Kherson, in the neighboring Kherson region.

CNN geolocated a video posted Thursday morning showing Ukrainian troops in a main square of the town holding a Ukrainian flag, as a group of villagers cheer and applaud.

“Today, November 10, Snihurivka settlement was liberated by the 131st separate scout battalion,” a soldier says. “Glory to Ukraine!”

The recapture of Snihurivka is a significant victory for the Ukrainian military in their push toward Kherson city, and comes a day after Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu ordered a withdrawal of Russian forces from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region.

Ukrainian servicemen fire a self-propelled gun at a Russian position near Kherson, Ukraine on November 9.

Russia’s Defense Ministry says its troops are?preparing to withdraw?from a large part of the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson, in a move that’s humiliating but also — after the developments of recent weeks — unsurprising.

The plan would give up thousands of square kilometers (including some of Ukraine’s best farmland) that?Russia?has occupied since the early days of the invasion, and was formally declared its territory just five weeks ago.

At a choreographed meeting in Moscow on Wednesday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Sergey Surovikin — the recently appointed commander of what Moscow refers to as its “special military operation” in Ukraine — put the best possible face on the withdrawal.

Since August, Russian troops have killed 9,500 Ukrainian soldiers in Kherson and successfully repelled “up to 80% to 90% of enemy missiles,” Surovikin claimed.

Nevertheless, a retreat would protect the lives of civilians and troops, he said.

Russian commentators and officials have carefully avoided the word retreat, spinning the “withdrawal” as a smart military call to regroup on the eastern side of the river Dnipro, in defensible positions that Ukrainian forces would struggle to destroy.

It’s not known at this stage how the Ukrainians will respond. Their troops on the southern front lines are exhausted and the land ahead of them is likely to be heavily mined. Pursuing the Russian troops would shed more blood, as would any fighting in dense areas like Kherson city.

Read Tim Lister’s full analysis here.

Russian President Vladimir Putin enters the hall for his press conference in Sochi, Russia on October 31.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend in person a summit of leaders from the Group of 20 nations in Bali next week, the Russian embassy in Indonesia told CNN on Thursday.

Putin will be represented by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, said Yulia Tomskaya, the chief of protocol at the embassy.

Tomskaya added that Putin is still deciding if he will join one of the meetings virtually.

Putin’s decision not to attend the G20 summit in person saves him the embarrassment of being confronted — or shunned — by other world leaders over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In the lead up to the event, Western countries and Ukraine have pressured Indonesia, the G20 host, to step up its condemnation of Moscow and withdraw its invitation to Putin for the summit.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks with CNN on Wednesday, November 9.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday thanked the United States, especially US taxpayers, for the billions of dollars of military aid they have given to Ukraine and asked for it to continue.

“We would really like for the support — especially the amount of support — to stay the same,” he said in an interview with CNN’s Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour.

The Ukrainian leader also commented on recent “mixed messages” from Republican lawmakers, a reference to threats made to cut aid to Ukraine if Republicans win control of the House in the midterms.?Zelensky said he hoped US bipartisan support for the Ukrainian war effort would continue whatever the outcome.

Note: The full interview with Zelensky will air on Amanpour at 1 p.m. ET on Thursday.

A self-propelled artillery vehicle fires near Bakhmut, Ukraine on Wednesday, November 9.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said a recent Pentagon assessment that Russia has lost 50% of its tanks in the war in Ukraine “more or less corresponds to reality.”?

In an interview with CNN’s Chief International Anchor Christiane Amanpour on Wednesday,?Zelensky said Russia has suffered a “stunning” number of losses of military personnel and artillery.?

On Tuesday, Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s Under Secretary of Defense for Policy told reporters Russia will come out of the war “weaker than when it went in,” having “probably lost half of their main battle tanks in the entire Russian military.” Kahl also pointed to the fact that Russia has “bogged down more than 80% of their land force in Ukraine” and exhausted the majority of its precision guided weapons in Ukraine.

Zelensky said he estimated Russia has suffered “10 times” more losses than Ukraine, adding that although he couldn’t give exact figures there is “a very significant difference” between the losses sustained by the two countries.

He also said Ukraine’s reluctance to throw men away as “cannon fodder” is another reason why it has not suffered as many casualties as Russia.?

“Whenever we ask our partners for artillery or armored vehicles, that it is not just about the weapons, but first of all protection for our military,” Zelensky added.?

The Ukrainian leader pointed to the fact that artillery provided to Ukraine by the United States and Europe succeeded in helping to “break” the Russian military offensive.?

Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley, speaks at an event at The Economic Club of New York, called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “tremendous strategic mistake” on Wednesday November 9.

Russia has suffered more than 100,000 killed and wounded soldiers as a result of the war in Ukraine, the top US general said Wednesday evening — and Ukraine is probably looking at similar numbers.

Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley, speaking at an event at The Economic Club of New York, called Russia’s invasion of Ukraine a “tremendous strategic mistake” for which the country would pay “for years and years and years to come.”

The war, which began in February, has caused a tremendous amount of human suffering, Milley said, including between 15 million and 30 million refugees and about 40,000 Ukrainian civilians killed.?

Road to peace: Milley said there may be a chance to negotiate an end to the conflict if and when the front lines stabilize during winter.?

But if negotiations never materialized or failed, Milley said the United States would continue to arm Ukraine, even as outright military victory for either side looks increasingly unlikely.

“There has to be a mutual recognition that military victory is probably in the true sense of the word may be not achievable through military means, and therefore you need to turn to other means,” he said.

Kherson withdrawal: Milley also said the US was seeing initial indications that Russia was indeed pulling out of Kherson, as they had stated. But he said the withdrawal of up to 30,000 Russian troops from the west bank of the Dnipro River could take days or even weeks.?

President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russia’s announcement of a withdrawal near the southern city of Kherson may be a strategic move to regroup forces.

But he also said, in an interview with CNN’s Christiane Amanpour, that at a time of his choosing, Ukrainian progress on the battlefield would come.

He added that Ukrainians “are not considering this as just one single operation.”

“We have a strategy and different directions,” he added.

Some background:?Russian state media reported that Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has ordered a withdrawal of Russian forces from the west bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region. His order comes as Ukrainian forces advance toward the city of Kherson from two directions.?

US President Joe Biden speaks with reporters in the State Dining Room at the White House on November 9.

US President Joe Biden said he’s hopeful that with the midterm election over, Russian President Vladimir Putin will be more willing to discuss the release of?WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was recently?transferred to a Russian penal colony?to serve the remainder of a nine-year drug smuggling sentence that was upheld in late October.?

The President said the US has had discussions with Russia — but is hoping that with the election over, “there is a willingness to negotiate more specifically with us.”

Asked if he could explain some of the alternative ways forward the administration had previously referred to and how Russia had responded to them, Biden answered, “I can but I won’t.”?

The UK government said Wednesday that a British man lost his life in Ukraine.

The UK foreign office in a statement said it was “supporting the family of a British national who has lost his life in Ukraine,” but did not reveal the person’s name.

The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) added that it was in touch with “the local authorities in connection with his death.”?

In June, former British Army soldier Jordan Gatley was shot and killed while fighting in Ukraine’s Severodonetsk, CNN reported at the time.?

British aid worker Paul Urey died in the annexed Donetsk region of Ukraine earlier this year after the Russian invasion started, CNN reported.

One of the most?senior Russian-appointed officials?in occupied Ukrainian territory has been killed, Russian officials and state news agencies said Wednesday.

The Russian-appointed deputy head of the?Kherson region?in southern Ukraine, Kirill Stremousov, died in a road accident, the press secretary of the head of the region said, according to Russian news agency TASS.

Also on Wednesday, Russia?ordered a retreat from the west bank of the Dnipro River?across the Kherson region, a dramatic setback for Moscow in the face of recent Ukrainian advances.

Stremousov was killed in an accident on the highway between Kherson and Armyansk in Crimea, the Russian state media company Vesti (VGTRK) reported, citing the region’s health minister. Stremousov was 45 years old, according to Vesti.

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A man walks past a burned Russian vehicle with the “Z” symbol in the streets of Ivanivka, Ukraine on November 9, in the recently liberated village formerly occupied by Russian troops in the Kherson region.

Russia has ordered a retreat from the?key southern city of Kherson, the only regional capital it has captured since February’s invasion, in a dramatic strategic setback for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the face of Ukrainian advances in the region, Russian troops across the Kherson region will withdraw from the west bank of the Dnipro River, an area that includes Kherson city, Russian state media reported Wednesday.

The order came at a meeting in Moscow between Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, as Ukrainian forces approach the city from two directions.

The?Russian withdrawal would represent the most significant military moment in the war since Ukrainian forces swept through the northern Kharkiv region in September.

Ukrainian officials have however remained skeptical that Russian forces had left the west bank altogether.

Ukraine “is liberating territories based on intelligence data, not staged TV statements,” Podolyak added.

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