[Evening Standard UK] Vladimir Putin has "well advanced" plans to order a retreat from Kherson, the largest city held by Russian forces in Ukraine, in another major setback for his invasion, western officials said on Thursday.
His generals are believed to have decided that the city is "not worth fighting for," with Russian forces having already suffered heavy losses as they are hit by Ukrainian counter-offensives in the south of the country and north east.
However, the Russian president is expected to seek to portray the withdrawal of troops, to the east side of the Dnipro River, as an evacuation.
Russia’s "command elements" in the Kherson area are already said to have retreated across the river where defences have been built up.
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