The last hours of the Russian occupation of Kherson

The only large Ukrainian city Russia has been able to capture since February’s invasion – Kherson – has now been liberated. But something else extraordinary happened: Russian reports emerged of thousands of troops being left on the right bank of the Dnipro river after the occupiers blew up the mile-long Antonivsky bridge.

Moscow flatly denies this, saying: ‘Not a single unit of soldiers, military equipment and weapons was left on the right bank of the Dnipro.’ But pro-Kremlin military blogs are full of reports to the contrary, some saying that thousands of Russians have been left on the wrong side of the river. If even some are captured, they could be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war. Ukraine has been shelling the river all night, to discourage attempts at escape.

The fog of war and misinformation (which can suit both sides) makes it hard to say with any confidence what’s happening. What follows could be an entirely fictional Kremlin narrative, to lure Ukraine into a trap and a city laced with booby traps (or a city about to be razed by Russian missiles, as Grozny was in 1999).