A very public decision by Russia to order the withdrawal of its forces from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson appears to be a necessary humiliation.
Exposed on the west bank of the Dnipro River, commanders faced the choice of staying and slowly dying under Ukrainian bombardment or retreating and living to fight another day.
Ukrainian troops will rightly be wary of a trap, designed to draw them forward into Russian fire.
But if – as it seems – President Vladimir Putin’s forces are genuinely retreating to new defensive lines on the opposite side of the river, it will mark an important win for Ukraine as well as a much-needed psychological boost after more than two-and-a-half months of a bloody counter-offensive in the south.
The big question now is whether the Ukrainians can exploit their momentum to keep pushing the Russians back, or will the frontlines literally and metaphorically freeze until the spring?
Both sides are exhausted, have suffered heavy casualties and…
