People queued for humanitarian aid in Kherson on Thursday, with food and other basic supplies running low while many live without heat, water and electricity.
As winter approaches, residents of Kherson are bracing for tough months ahead, after the Russian troops withdrew from the city to the east bank of the Dnieper river last week, with the Defence Ministry confirming the regrouping on Thursday.
In recent weeks Ukraine’s army claimed to have retaken dozens of towns and villages north of the city of Kherson.
On September 30, President Vladimir Putin agreed to sign documents allowing the accession of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, to the Russian Federation.
According to Moscow, the move followed referenda in which people living in those areas exercised their right to self-determination and requested to join Russia.
Ukraine and its international allies condemned the move, calling it an annexation of Kiev’s sovereign territory.
