Russia says latest retreat in Ukraine is complete

A tail of a multiple rocket sticks out of the ground near the recently recaptured village of Zakitne, Ukraine (Andriy Andriyenko/AP)

Russia’s defence ministry says the retreat of troops from the west bank of the river dividing Ukraine’s Kherson region is complete.

In a statement carried by Russia’s state news agencies, the ministry said the withdrawal was finished at 5am on Friday.

It said no military equipment was left on the western bank.

The retreat, announced earlier this week, marks another setback for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Areas the Russian military withdrew from include the city of Kherson, the only regional capital Moscow seized during its eight-month-old war in Ukraine.

A Kremlin spokesman on Friday refused to acknowledge the retreat as humiliating for Russian President Vladimir Putin.