Newlyweds, holding Ukrainian flag, kiss as they celebrate the liberation of their native town. Photo: Oleksandr Gimanov/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukrainian police officers, as well as TV and radio broadcast services, returned to the southern city of Kherson Saturday following a massive withdrawal of Russian troops, the Associated Press reports.
Why it matters: Ukraine has taken its first steps toward making the southern city of Kherson more livable again after eight months of occupation.
Details: Police teams returned to Kherson over the weekend with at least 200 officers committed to building checkpoints and documenting any war crimes information, according to a Facebook post from Ihor Klymenko, the chief of the national police of Ukraine.
- Ukraine's communications team said national TV and radio broadcasts would return to Kherson as well, per AP.
- Kherson's mayor said that aid and supplies were on their way from the nearby Mykolaiv region, AP reports.
Catch up fast: Russia announced a withdrawal from Kherson last Wednesday, surrendering the only provincial capital occupied by the country since the beginning of the war, Axios reports.
- This was deemed a major setback for Russia, which is now reorganizing its defenses on the River Dnipro.
- Ukraine celebrated the return of its troops to the city Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky calling it a "historic day."
What they're saying: “The occupiers and collaborators did everything possible so that those people who remained in the city suffered as much as possible over those days, weeks, months of waiting” for Ukraine’s police and defense teams to arrive, said Roman Holovnya, an advisor to Kherson's mayor, per AP.
- Klymenko said in his Facebook post that people in Kherson should "be careful in the city and do not touch suspicious objects."
- "At the same time, we appeal to the citizens who left Kherson: do not hurry to return until stabilization measures are completed," he wrote.
Go deeper: Russia announces retreat from key Ukrainian city of Kherson