Putin stays silent as Russian troops retreat Kherson – Ukraine live

Vladimir Putin has been pretty quiet over the decision to retreat from Kherson.

Russia has announced the withdrawal is now complete, as my colleage Maryam Zakir-Hussainreported on Friday:

There have been no big speeches from Russia’s president so far on the matter, with the defence ministry leading announcements.

Here are some more images from Ukrainians celebrating the Russian retreat from Kherson in Kyiv last night:

He has also met with the Australian prime minister.

“I thanked him for standing firmly with Ukraine as we defend ourselves from Russian aggression,” Ukraine’s foreign minister tweeted this morning:

Ukraine’s foreign minister has met with his Indian counterpart to discuss the war:

The number of Russian troops killed in the war has now topped 80,000, Ukraine’s army has claimed:

Here’s the latest UK intelligence update on Ukraine.

• Russia likely destroyed bridges and roads during retreat from Kherson
• Its troops had likely been retreating for weeks, despite officially announcing withdrawal just days ago
• Kherson retreat “brings significant reputational damage”

Predicting that Vladimir Putin will “deservedly” lose the war in Ukraine, former UK prime minister Boris Johnson said that the war will also “severely weaken Russia” while strengthening China.

“We don’t think we need to worry about how Putin will manage his defeat. He is after all master of propaganda,” he added while speaking the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit at the Indian capital of Delhi.

The former PM also pledged his support for Ukraine, as he called Mr Putin a “punk” of China’s president. “Only one leader Putin cared to consult and was given green light at Beijing olympics.. He is the punk of Xi Jinping.”

Mr Johnson also pledged his continued support for the war-torn country saying: “I’m going to continue to push for the things I believe in – supporting the people of Ukraine, helping them defend against the invasion.”

Former UK prime minister Boris Johnson said that Russian president Vladimir Putin does not believe Ukraine is a real country.

“You want to know why Putin invaded Ukraine? Read his essay of July last year. He basically believes that Ukraine is not a real country,” he said during a media summit in India today.

“People think that Ukraine’s was going to join Nato and Putin had reasons to think he was being militarily encircled. It’s nonsense. Absolute hogwash,” Mr Johnson said while speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi.

“The reason Putin invaded Ukraine is because he is a 70-year-old autocrat, who thought that he can make Russia great again and avenge the insults of the Cold War,” he added.

“[Putin] thought that when his tanks rolled into Ukraine, they will be garlanded with roses by a grateful Ukrainian population. He was so deluded”.

A disgruntled security guard has admitted spying for Russia while working at the British embassy in Berlin.

Briton David Ballantyne Smith, 58, is said to have been driven by an intense hatred for his own country and wanted to live in Russia or Ukraine at the time he passed on secret intelligence from May 2020.

Despite living beyond his means, €800 in cash was found at his home in Potsdam in Germany when he was arrested in August last year.

Jubilant residents planted flags and welcomed Ukrainian soldiers into the centre of Kherson on Friday after the withdrawal of Russian forces, marking a major strategic victory for Kyiv over Moscow.

“Today is a historic day,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an evening video address. “We are getting the south of the country back, we are getting Kherson back.”

Cheering citizens chanted victory slogans in the southern city’s central square, where the apparent first Ukrainian troops to arrive snapped selfies in the throng.

Our international correspondent Bel Trew reports from Kobzartsi, Mykolaiv: