Ukraine Defense Minister estimated size of invaders troops in Kherson region

Oleksii Reznikov, Minister of Defense of Ukraine, expressed a view on how many Russian invaders are in the Kherson region and how long it takes them to withdraw.

In his comment to a Reuters news agency, he stated the Russian Federation has 40,000 troops in the Kherson region, according to RFE/RL.

The Russian invaders still have forces in Kherson, around the city and on the west bank of the Dnipro River, despite the recent announcement of a retreat.

According to the minister, Russia will need at least one week to withdraw its troops from Kherson.

“It is not so easy to withdraw these troops from Kherson in one or two days. At least (it will take) one week,” he said, noting that it is difficult to predict Russia’s actions and that Kyiv is focused on its own plan.

Reznikov suggested that Russia, due to its withdrawal, could strengthen its units in the neighboring Zaporizhzhya region, which was also partially occupied for several months.

As previously reported, on November 9, the Russian command announced a retreat from the right bank of the Kherson region and the city of Kherson.

The commander of Russian troops in the Kherson region, Sergei Surovikin, suggested to the Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation to leave the right-bank part of the region and Kherson. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu agreed with Surovikin’s proposition.

Surovikin said that in the current conditions, Kherson and nearby settlements cannot be fully supplied.

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation destroyed several bridges in the occupied territory of the Mykolayiv and Kherson regions.

On November 10, the General Staff reported that they could neither deny nor confirm the withdrawal of Russian troops from the Kherson region. The Ukrainian military continues to perform its work and the offensive operation in the south is proceeding according to the plan of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Late yesterday evening, the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced that during the counteroffensive actions, the Ukrainian military liberated 41 settlements in the south of Ukraine. Also, a video appeared on the network where the Ukrainian military announced the liberation of the village of Snihurivka in the Mykolayiv region.