The White House on November 12 hailed Russia’s withdrawal from the Ukrainian city of Kherson as an "extraordinary victory" for Ukraine.
"It does look as though the Ukrainians have just won an extraordinary victory where the one regional capital that Russia had seized in this war is now back under a Ukrainian flag -- and that is quite a remarkable thing," national-security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters as he accompanied President Joe Biden to the ASEAN summit in Cambodia.
Sullivan spoke hours after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy declared that Kherson is "ours” after his special forces entered the strategic southern city following the retreat of Russian troops, marking another dramatic battlefield victory in Kyiv’s drive to recapture territory occupied by Russia since the start of its unprovoked invasion.
Separately, British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on November 12 that Moscow's "strategic failure" in Kherson will sow doubt among the Russian public about the point of the war in Ukraine.
"Russia's announced withdrawal from Kherson marks another strategic failure for them. In February, Russia failed to take any of its major objectives except Kherson," Wallace said in a statement. "Now with that also being surrendered, ordinary people of Russia must surely ask themselves: 'What was it all for?'"
Video posted online showed people on the streets, flying Ukraine's national flag and chanting as Ukrainian troops arrived in the city. Photos circulating on social media on November 12 showed Ukrainian activists removing memorial plaques put up by the occupation authorities the Kremlin installed to run the Kherson region.
"We are winning battles on the ground. But the war continues," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said after Ukraine's recovery of Kherson.
Speaking at the summit in Cambodia on November 12, Kuleba said that reclaiming the city was "quite an exercise.”
“I understand that everyone wants this war to end as soon as possible. We are definitely the ones who want that more than anyone else," Kuleba said during a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the sidelines of the summit.
Sullivan said that the Russian retreat would have "broader strategic implications," including relieving the longer-term threat by Russia to other southern Ukrainian cities, such as Odesa.
"It's a big moment, and it's due to the incredible tenacity and skill of the Ukrainians, backed by the relentless and united support of the United States and our allies," Sullivan said.
Tears, Joy On The Streets As Ukrainian Troops Push Toward Kherson
Asked about reports that the Biden administration has started to press Zelenskiy to explore negotiations with Moscow, Sullivan said that Russia, not Ukraine, was the side that has to decide whether or not to go to the table.
"This whole notion, I think, in the Western press of, 'When's Ukraine going to negotiate?' misses the underlying fundamentals," Sullivan said.
WATCH: Local residents welcomed Ukrainian soldiers into Snihurivka on November 10, as advance forces of the Ukrainian military recaptured the town in the southern Mykolayiv region. Other footage from the village of Blahodatne in the Kherson region shows a massive cache of abandoned weapons left by the Russian troops after their retreat.
Russia, he added, continues to make "outlandish claims" about its self-declared annexations of Ukrainian lands, even as it retreats from Ukrainian counterattacks.
"Ultimately, at a 30,000-foot level, Ukraine is the party of peace in this conflict and Russia is the party of war. Russia invaded Ukraine. If Russia chose to stop fighting in Ukraine and left, it would be the end of the war. If Ukraine chose to stop fighting and give up, it would be the end of Ukraine," he said.
"In that context, our position remains the same as it has been and fundamentally is in close consultation and support of President Zelenskiy,” he said.
The Ukrainian military said on November 12 that it had carried out “stabilization measures” near Kherson following the end of the eight-month Russian occupation.
In a regular social media update, the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said the Russians were fortifying their battle lines on the river's eastern bank after abandoning the capital. About 70 percent of the Kherson region remains under Russian control.
