Kherson part of Russia; no changes to its status

In a press conference on Friday, the Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov pointed to the pullout of troops from the Kherson region and said that "The goals of the special military operation in Ukraine could have been achieved through peaceful negotiations, which is now impossible because of Kyiv's actions."

According to Peskov, "The Kherson region is a part of Russia, this status is fixed, and there can be no changes to it."

He also referred to the US decision to strip Russia of its classification as a “market economy” and said that "Pressure on Russia will not help to stabilize the global market."

On Biden's remarks about US being ready for prisoner swap talks, the spokesman said, "Megaphone diplomacy undermines the effectiveness of the process."

"This is a subject of Russia. [The status of] this subject is legislatively fixed, defined. There are no and can be no changes," Peskov said, when asked whether Russia continued to consider the entire Kherson region as its own territory and whether it would legally define the status of the region's right-bank part.

The Russian troops have taken up pre-prepared defensive positions on the left bank of the Dnipro River after the crossing, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Friday, accoridng to Sputnik.

On Wednesday, Commander of the Joint Russian Forces in Ukraine Sergey Surovikin reported to Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu that it was necessary to withdraw the troops from the right bank of the Dnepr river, including the city of Kherson, and organize a defense on its left bank. This plan was accepted by the defense minister.

In October, Russia started the evacuation of civilians from the Dnepr right bank to other regions in order to save them from constant shelling by Ukrainian forces.

The Ukrainian artillery, using NATO weaponry, targeted various infrastructure facilities, including the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station. If the dam were to be destroyed, Kherson and many nearby settlements would have been flooded, which would have led to the blockade of the Russian forces on the right bank.

MNA