Kiev advances on Kherson but fears a Russian trap

It risked being the battlefield of a fundamental clash for the fate of the war.

Instead, the Russians withdrew from Kherson, granting the city bastion of the occupiers to the troops of Kiev who, kilometer after kilometer, advance between ghost villages and places battered by bombs, towards the only regional capital that had been conquered by Russian forces from the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine.

But if Moscow confirms that the movement of troops from the right to the left bank of the Dnieper "is underway", Kiev is still not singing victory.

And indeed there

it into a "city of death", accused the advisor to Ukrainian President Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak.

Because after destroying the bridges, the Russians "undermine everything they can, from apartments to sewers".

And "the artillery on the left bank" of the river "intends to turn the city into rubble".

President

is moving "very carefully" on the announcement of the Russian withdrawal.

Because "the enemy does not give gifts", quite the contrary.

According to military analysts, Russia could try to blow up the

to cover the retreat.

A catastrophic hypothesis, because losing the dam would mean flooding the Ukrainian territory and drying up the

.

A "declaration of war on the whole world", according to the Ukrainian leader.

For British intelligence, the loss of Kherson's western shore

.

And it is likely that the withdrawal of the occupants will take place over several days, with defensive positions and artillery fire to cover.

If on the one hand Kiev shows caution, the Ukrainian armed forces still speak of "a result of our offensive", which is confirmed by the conquests on the ground.

Like the liberation of 12 villages in the Kherson region of the same name and that of the entire Mykolaiv region.

While the CNN reports that Ukrainian troops have entered the city of Kyselivka, just 15 kilometers from the city on the Dnieper.

"If the Russians abandon Kherson it will be another victory for Ukraine", commented the secretary of NATO,

, who met Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in Rome.

Turkey called Moscow's decision to leave the city "a positive step", while the European Union reads the withdrawal as a confirmation that support for Kiev and sanctions are working.

On

, there are those who argue that the withdrawal from Kherson could push Moscow to sit at a table to reach a negotiated solution to the conflict.

All eyes are on next week's

in Bali, which will not be attended by President Putin, while Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov will go.

There are several bilateral meetings scheduled, but it is not clear whether or not they will concern a possible negotiation for a ceasefire.

And while peace is awaited, war is still being prepared: Kiev announced the construction of a strengthened defense system for the capital and Zelensky confirmed Canadian and British support for defense in telephone talks with their respective premier, Justin Trudeau and Rishi. Sunak.

, White House sources have quantified.

But according to the Wall Street Journal, the supplies will not include the advanced Gray Eagle MQ-1C drones, which Washington refused to deliver to avoid further escalation with Russia.

The months pass, words like dialogue, truce and negotiation chase each other.

But in the meantime in Ukraine people continue to die:

.

And the conflict shows its disarming desolation in the Ukrainian ghost towns, abandoned by all forms of life to save themselves from the rain of bombs and bullets.

In the liberated village of Potiomkyne, in the Kherson region, "there is not a single house still standing and almost no one is left," said the head of the regional military administration Yaroslav Yanushevych.

"Before, 380 people lived there. There were 34 children, now their school and kindergarten are gone."