Zelensky hails Kherson capture as ‘beginning of end of war’

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (second left) posing for a selfie with Ukrainian servicemen during his visit to the newly liberated city of Kherson. (AFP)

President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday said Ukraine’s recapture of Kherson marked “the beginning of the end of the war” as he hailed the liberation of the city of Kherson in a surprise visit. Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg nonetheless cautioned that Ukraine was facing difficult months ahead and said that Russia’s military capability should not be underestimated. And US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping — a key ally of Vladimir Putin — agreed in talks yesterday that nuclear weapons should never be used, including in Ukraine. The Ukrainian presidency distributed images of Zelensky singing the national anthem with his hand over his chest as the country’s blue and yellow flag was hoisted next to Kherson’s main administrative building. “This is the beginning of the end of the war,” Zelensky said. “It is a long way, difficult way, because the war took the best heroes of our country. We are ready for peace but our peace, for our country it’s all our country, all our territory,” he added. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman denied that the Ukrainian leader’s visit had any impact on the status of the Kherson region, which Moscow formally annexed into Russia at a ceremony last month. In Kherson, Zelensky said that “the price of this war is high”. “People are injured. A large number of dead. There were fierce battles, and the result is — today we are in Kherson region.” His visit came just days after Ukrainian troops entered the city — the Kherson region’s administrative centre — after Russia pulled back its forces on Friday.