Note4Students

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :

Prelims level: Kherson from mapping perspective

Mains level: Russia's retreat in Ukraine

kherson

Ukraine’s defence and intelligence unit has reported on the withdrawal of Russian troops from Kherson but predicts it to be a delusion for a retreat.

Where is Kherson?

Geographically, Kherson is a strategic location for Russia and Ukraine.
Situated in the northwest of the Dnipro River, the province shares borders with Donetsk, Crimea and the Black Sea.

Why is it important for Russia?

With Moscow capturing Crimea in 2014, the occupation of Kherson in March 2022 has benefited Russia in transferring its military from Crimea to counter Ukraine.
It provides access to Odesa and Black Sea ports in the west and serves as the main route to secure southern Ukraine.

For Ukraine, regaining Kherson is significant to protect its population in Kalanchak and Chaplynka districts and also to recapture Crimea.
Kherson is also an important agricultural region, with irrigation channels.

In early March 2022, Kherson was captured by Russia through intense fighting.
The battle of Kherson proved to be the starting point to capturing and occupying the southern part of Ukraine while the battles for Kharkiv and Kyiv in the north progressed.
Russia’s hold over Kherson since March 2022 enabled Moscow to capture the key port cities — Mariupol in the Sea Azov, and Odesa, thus expanding control.
Kherson’s irrigation canals were used as defence positions, creating a strong line preventing Ukraine’s counter-attacks.
Russia also had positioned its soldiers in Kherson and stockpiled the ammunition.

Mobilisation failure: When Russia was advancing rapidly in capturing the southern and northern cities of Ukraine, its military personnel and weapon systems started to run thin.
Unexperienced troops: The failure of new recruits added an additional challenge to Russia to keep its hold against the Ukraine counter-offensive in Kherson.
Inability of Russia to govern Kherson: Despite imposing martial law, Russia could not effectively rule Kherson; the three-level security in the occupied areas could not enforce Russia’s control on the ground.
Ukraine’s expanding counter-offensive: Until August, Ukraine was supplied only with short-range and low-grade weapons by the West. On the other hand, Russia has been facing challenges in augmenting its military hardware on the battleground.

Ukraine is advancing: Russia’s new mobilisation has failed to stop the advancing of Ukraine forces.
Russia is weakening: The challenges to remobilise its defence systems and the shortage of weapons must have played a role in Russia’s withdrawal.
Inevitable western intervention: With Ukraine strengthening its military capacity through support from the west, upgrading from land-based to air-based to heavy battle tanks, Russia is facing a challenge to hold its occupied territories in Ukraine.

Withdrawal from Kherson exposes a serious gap in Russia’s strategy to hold southern Ukraine.
However, it also underlines its strategy — to withdraw under serious attack or resistance by the Ukrainian forces — as it happened in Kyiv and Kharkiv.