Ukraine’s President visits recaptured Kherson as US, Russia talk

By Stefan J. Bos

Ukrainian President Zelensky sang the national anthem as his nation’s flag was hoisted in the liberated city of Kherson.

He came to the city to encourage a population that he said had suffered war crimes during eight months of Russian occupation. “I am happy we are in Kherson. We are not preparing the reaction of the people,” he told reporters about the enthusiastic crowds welcoming him and Ukrainian forces. 

“People waited for our army, for our soldiers, for all of us,” the president stressed after meeting his troops. 

Experts have warned that more military gains are becoming harder as winter sets in. But, asked whether the recapture of Kherson could be the beginning of the end of the war, Zelensky replied: “We are ready for peace, but our peace for our country.”

He also warned Moscow, “We don’t believe Russia. That is why we are moving forward.” 

President Zelensky earlier noticed that the bodies of civilians and military personnel were being found in the region, reflecting atrocities discovered elsewhere in the country.

Zelensky claimed that Ukrainian investigators had already documented more than 400 potential Russian war crimes in parts of the Kherson region that Ukrainian forces have retaken.

His visit came while the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William J. Burns, met with his Russian counterpart in Turkey to warn Russia against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. 

The National Security Council said Burns’s meeting in Ankara was not in any way meant to negotiate or discuss any settlement of the war in Ukraine.

U.S. President Joe Biden has publicly insisted that Ukraine, not the United States, will dictate if and when negotiations commence to end the war. 

However, there have been reports that U.S. officials have privately warned Kyiv of Ukraine fatigue among allies who face rising food and energy prices linked to the war.