Donetsk battles are hell, Ukraine’s Zelensky says as Kherson mops up

Kyiv — Russian forces destroyed key infrastructure in Ukraine’s southern city of Kherson before fleeing, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as the leaders of Russia and Iran vowed to deepen economic, political and trade ties.     

Zelensky described as hellish battles in the eastern region of Donetsk, where pro-Moscow forces were putting up a far stiffer fight after Russia withdrew on Friday from the only regional capital it captured since the war began in February.

Jubilant residents of Kherson welcomed arriving troops while Zelensky said the authorities, in their efforts to stabilise the region, had dealt with nearly 2,000 mines, trip-wires and unexploded shells left by the departing Russians.

Russians “everywhere have the same goal: to humiliate people as much as possible. But we will restore everything, believe me,” Zelensky said in a video address on Saturday.

“Before fleeing from Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all the critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity.”

Ukraine’s success in Kherson, where its troops now control more than 60 regional settlements and other places, benefited partly from resistance in the Donetsk region, despite repeated Russian attacks, Zelensky said.

“There it is just hell. There are extremely fierce battles there every day,” he said. “But our units are defending bravely — they are withstanding the terrible pressure of the invaders, preserving our defence lines.”

In a telephone call, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi emphasised “further enhancing co-operation in the political, trade and economic fields, including the transport and logistics sector”, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

Russia has stepped up efforts to build ties with Iran and other non-Western countries during the war. A senior Russian security official met Iranian leaders in Tehran on Wednesday.

The visit followed accusations by Ukraine and the West that Russia attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with Iranian drones.

Iran says it sent Russia a small number of drones before the war began. In October, two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats told Reuters that Iran promised to provide Russia with surface-to-surface missiles.

But Ukraine will decide on the timing and contents of any negotiation framework with Russia, according to the readout of a Saturday meeting between US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba in Phnom Penh.

The Washington Post reported a week ago that the Biden administration was encouraging Ukraine’s leaders privately to signal openness to negotiate with Russia and drop their public refusal to engage in peace talks unless Putin was removed from power.

Moscow calls its action in Ukraine a “special military operation”. Kyiv and its allies say Russia’s invasion, which has killed tens of thousands and uprooted millions, was unprovoked and illegal.

‘Twenty years younger’

On the road to Kherson, villagers holding flowers waited on Saturday to greet and kiss Ukrainian soldiers as they poured in to secure control of the right bank of the Dnipro River after the stunning Russian retreat.

“We’ve become 20 years younger in the last two days,” said Valentyna Buhailova, 61, just before a Ukrainian soldier jumped out of a small truck and hugged her and her companion Nataliya Porkhunuk, 66, in a hamlet near the centre of Kherson.

But volleys of artillery fire surrounded the international airport, and police said they were setting up checkpoints in and around the city and sweeping for mines left behind.

The mayor said the humanitarian situation was “severe” with lack of water, medicine and bread, as residents celebrated their liberation in what Zelensky called a “historic day”.

“The city has a critical shortage, mainly of water,” mayor Roman Holovnia told television. “There is not enough medicine, not enough bread because it can’t be baked. There is no electricity.”

Renowned graffiti artist Banksy unveiled on Instagram a mural of a girl gymnast performing a handstand on a small pile of concrete rubble in the Ukrainian town of Borodyanka, which was occupied by Russia until April and damaged heavily in the early days of fighting.

“This is such a historic moment for our country that people like Banksy and other famous figures are coming here and showing the world what Russia has done to us,” said Alina Mazur, 31, who drove 60km from Kyiv, the capital, for a glimpse.

But the road to Kherson from Mykolaiv was lined by fields scarred by miles of abandoned Russian trenches. A destroyed T72 tank lay with its turret tossed upside down.

The abandoned trenches were littered with refuse, blankets and camouflage netting. An irrigation ditch was filled with discarded Russian gear and several antitank mines were visible on the side of the road.

People in the village of Kiselivka said the Russians left on Wednesday night.

“They didn’t fire any shots,” said Hyhory Kulyaka, 54, who drove up on a scooter. “They were just gone.”

Reuters