Russia's military has been ordered to pull out of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, the only regional capital it captured after invading in February.
Russia's commander in Ukraine, Gen Sergei Surovikin, referred to it was now not possible to maintain presenting the metropolis.
The withdrawal means Russian forces will pull out entirely from the western bank of the River Dnipro.
it is a big blow as Russia faces a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
The defense force's precise brass have been viewed making the choice on Russian state television, with Gen Surovikin reporting on the situation on the floor in Kherson.
President Vladimir Putin didn't take part in the staged event. The architect of Russia's failing war in Ukraine appeared to have left the announcement to his generals.
It became Mr Putin who introduced Russia's annexation of Kherson, and three different occupied regions, on the conclusion of September.
"In these instances, essentially the most brilliant option is to organise the defence alongside a barrier line alongside the river Dnipro," Gen Surovikin informed the assembly.
Russian forces swept throughout southern Ukraine from annexed Crimea initially of the warfare, seizing Kherson city in early March.
but their resolution to pull lower back throughout the Dnipro river became handled with caution by way of Ukrainian officials.
"actions communicate louder than words," spoke of presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak.
"We see no indications that Russia is leaving Kherson and not using a battle... [Ukraine] is releasing territories in accordance with intelligence statistics, no longer staged television statements."
pro-Kremlin conflict bloggers were much less cautious, with one known as battle Gonzo condemning the retreat as a "black web page in the history of the Russian military".
There is not any way for Moscow to depict this withdrawal as anything else aside from a humiliating setback - its biggest loss on the grounds that Ukraine recaptured massive areas across the city of Kharkiv in the early autumn.
And it further undermines Russia's announcement that it was illegally annexing Ukrainian provinces, including Kherson, which it stated would stay Russian territory "forever".
however, as Mr Podolyak warned, there are several reasons for Ukraine to be cautious.
the first is that chickening out Russian forces will certainly have left in the back of mines and booby traps for the advancing Ukrainians.
The 2d is that Russia, having withdrawn its troops to the east bank - and having "evacuated", once in a while with the aid of force, large numbers of civilians - will now be tempted to bombard Kherson at will.
finally, the pattern rising in this warfare is that anytime Russia suffers an incredible armed forces setback it responds by way of extra punishing the civilian population.
predict more missile and drone strikes to make iciness for Ukrainians as miserable as possible.
considered as one of the leading cheerleaders of the occupation of Kherson, he had warned handiest six days in the past that it was "definitely" that Russian forces would ought to move to the jap bank.
besides the fact that children the Ukrainian strengthen had slowed in contemporary weeks, Russia's deliver strains throughout the Dnipro had turn into more and more elaborate after the few bridges throughout were destroyed by using Ukrainian missiles.
earlier than the withdrawal, Russia moved thousands of civilians out of the city through boat, in what Ukraine condemned as a compelled deportation.
Gen Surovikin - in the past a notorious commander of Russia's fresh operations in Syria - became appointed to take over the running of Russia's invasion a month ago.
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