The announcement caught everyone off guard because it related to a relatively “quiet” part of the front. Prior to retracting their claim, the Ukrainian army on Thursday claimed that Russian troops had left the town of Nova Kakhova in the southern area of the nation known as Kherson.
The Ukrainian ministry of defense initially claimed on Telegram that “on March 22, 2023 (Wednesday), all elements of the occupying army deployed in the community of Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region, left the city.”
Nova Kakhovka, which had 45,000 residents before to the conflict, is situated in the Kherson region, which Vladimir Putin partially captured and annexed in September 2022. The town is precisely a few kilometers northeast of Kherson, which the Russians left in November 2022 in order to flee over the Dnieper.
Russia had objected.
An official of the Russian occupation in the Kherson region quickly refuted the claim made by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense. Vladimir Saldo declared on Telegram that all Russian military forces in Novo Kakhovka and other locations on the left side of the Dnieper remain in their positions.
Kyiv ultimately acknowledged that the Russians still controlled the city, blaming a communication error. The residents are still still residing in Novo Kakhovka. Due to the erroneous use of existing data, information concerning the alleged enemy departure from this area became public, the Ukrainian General Staff stated on Telegram.
With the absence of troop movements in this area, the news of Nova Kakhova’s release was unexpected. Both sides have chosen to focus their efforts on the Bakhmout region in the east since Kherson was liberated in November of last year, leaving the front here stalemate.
Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, visited the troubled area on Thursday, which has led to this misunderstanding. The Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, which the Russians took control of at the beginning of their operation against Ukraine in late February 2022, is close to the village of Nova Kakhovka.
