Ukrainian troops prepare to reclaim city abandoned by Russians

The area they left included the city of Kherson, the only provincial capital Russia had captured during its nearly nine-month invasion of Ukraine

Russian army soldiers stand next to their trucks (PA)

Russia has relinquished its final foothold in a major city in southern Ukraine, allowing Ukrainian forces to move cautiously towards reclaiming the country’s only Russian-occupied provincial capital.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said its troops finished withdrawing from the western bank of the river that divides Ukraine’s Kherson region at 5am local time.