Kyiv: A Russian occupation official stationed in southern Ukraine claimed on Thursday that Moscow is likely to withdraw its troops from the west bank of the Dnipro River, indicating a significant withdrawal, if realized, So there will be a turning point in the conflict.

Although there was silence from higher-ups in Moscow on what would come to be one of Russia's most humiliating retreats, so far Ukrainian officials and Western analysts continued to be wary of signs that Russia was leaving the region.

According to Kyiv, fighting is still going on in the area, and the country is concerned that Moscow may set a trap by pretending to retreat.

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Kirill Stremosov, the Russian-established deputy civilian administrator for the Kherson region, said in an interview with the pro-Kremlin online media outlet Solovyov Live that "most likely our units, our soldiers, will leave for the left [east] bank."

The region includes Kherson City, the only important city Russia has completely occupied since its invasion in February and is the capital of the same designated region.

Additionally, it contains part of a large dam that extends to Dnipro and controls the water supply used to irrigate Crimea, a peninsula that Russia has occupied since 2014.

One of the most significant new victories, which Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed to have included Russia in late September, was one of the regions from which Russia had previously denied any intention to withdraw its forces. .

On Thursday, speculation intensified about whether Russia was actually backing down as images surfaced online showed the Russian flag no longer flying over Kherson's main administrative structure. According to Ukraine, these photos may be false information spread by Russia.

According to Natalia Lyubeyuk, spokesman for Ukraine's Southern Military Command, it could be a Russian trap.

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She said in televised comments, "This may be an expression of a specific excitement, to give the impression that settlements have been abandoned, that it is safe to enter them while they are preparing for street fighting.

Even though the enemies are trying to convince us that they are leaving the settlements and giving the impression of a complete evacuation, we still fight in the direction of Kherson," she said.

In perhaps his most upbeat remarks on the crucial campaign so far, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he thinks Ukrainian forces can overtake Kherson.

For months, Russia has struggled to maintain control of the area of ​​land it controls on the west bank of the river that divides Ukraine. One of Moscow's top battlefield priorities was to fortify the area with tens of thousands of soldiers.

Since several months ago, Ukraine has targeted main river crossings, making it challenging for Russia to support its large force on the west bank.

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Since breaking the Russian border there in early October, Ukrainian troops have been advancing along the river, although their progress has slowed recently.

In addition to this week's orders to leave the 15-kilometre buffer zone on the east coast, Russia had earlier ordered the evacuation of civilians from occupied areas on the west coast.

 These evacuation orders constitute, according to Kyiv, the forced deportation, a war crime. Stremosov urged citizens who were still in the city of Kherson because they were risking their lives.

Although Ukraine has so far spread rumors that Russia is publicly easing its position at the front in Kherson, it maintains strict secrecy about the advance of its troops there. Last week, when Reuters visited Ukrainian soldiers on the front lines, they claimed that Russian forces saw no sign of leaving and thought the opposite was true.

Moscow's intentions are unknown, according to Michael Kaufman, a leading US expert on the Russian military, who just recently returned from the Ukrainian side of the Kherson Front.

Although he "could be wrong about this," he did not think that Russia would leave the west bank of the river "without forcibly".
According to Kaufman, director of studies for Russia at the think tank Center for Naval Analysis, "the situation in Kherson is as clear as mud."

"Russian forces appeared to be retreating, emptying and coming down from some areas, but they were also reinforced with personnel that had been mobilized. There, the fighting is challenging. Russian forces, despite being limited, are short on ammunition. Supply is not running.

The EU's top diplomat insisted that during the winter, the Allies had a moral obligation to support Ukraine in its struggle against the invasion.

On the fringes of a gathering of G7 foreign ministers in the German town of Münster, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell issued a warning that Putin was turning to attacks on the civil infrastructure as a result of defeats on the battlefield.

"Russia under Putin is obliterating Ukraine. They are systematically destroying the country because they are unable to occupy it, prevail on the battlefield, or win the war, the diplomat told reporters.