Russian soldiers are leaving their wounded behind as they desperately flee from Kherson, a Ukrainian soldier has claimed.
Earlier this week, Russia announced it was retreating from the region, including parts of the city which had been the only regional capital Moscow had captured so far.
The strengthening advance from Volodymyr Zelensky’s troops has forced Moscow to fall back, and in the 24 hours since Russia began its withdrawal, Ukrainian troops have recaptured more than 250 square kilometres of territory.
Nikolai, a Ukrainian soldier fighting in the region, told The Telegraph Russian troops have pulled back to more “fortified positions”.
He said: “They withdraw because they suffer losses, very heavy losses. What’s more, they don’t even take the bodies of their soldiers and leave the wounded behind.”
In his evening address on Thursday, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky paid tribute to his fallen “warriors” who gave their lives for the liberation of 41 settlements in the south.
He said: “It’s not the enemy leaving. It’s Ukrainians who drive the occupiers out at high cost.”
