Friday’s announcement by the Russian Defense Ministry stated that the Russian Defense Ministry had completed the withdrawal of its troops from the west bank of the river that divides Ukraine’s south Kherson region. This includes the only provincial capital Moscow has captured since it invaded the country.

Russian state news agencies carried a statement from the ministry stating that the withdrawal was complete at 5 a.m. Friday and that no military equipment was left behind. Despite this, Russia’s 8 1/2-month-old war in Ukraine has seen another setback.

Friday’s defiant display by the Kremlin was a sign of confidence, as it insisted that the development did not pose a problem for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, said that Moscow still views the whole Kherson region as Russian.

He said that the Kremlin didn’t regret hosting celebrations a month ago to commemorate the illegal annexed of Kherson and three other occupied, or partially occupied, regions of Ukraine.

The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zilenskyy reported that Russian forces had shelled some villages and towns it had reclaimed during the counteroffensive in Kherson.

Officials in Ukraine were concerned about the Russian pullback that was announced this week. They feared their soldiers might be drawn into an ambush at Kherson city, which has a population of 280,000. According to military analysts, it would take Russia at least one week to withdraw the troops.

Mykhailo Podolyak, the Ukrainian presidential adviser, stated Thursday that Russian troops had laid mines in Kherson to make it a “city for death” and predicted that they would attack the city once they have moved across the Dnieper River.

Some quarters of Ukraine’s government were not afraid to warn that Russia might retreat, but they couldn’t hide their delight at the speed of withdrawal.

Andriy Yermak, a senior adviser to the president, tweeted that “The Russian army leaves battlefields in a Triathlon mode: steeplechase and broad jumping, swimming.” Videos on social media that were apparently taken by soldiers as they traveled toward Kherson showed villages hugging the Ukrainian troops.

The capture of the city could give Ukraine a strong base from which to expand its southern counteroffensive against other Russian-occupied areas. This could include Crimea which Moscow took in 2014.

The Kremlin could use its new positions on the east bank to try to escalate the conflict, which U.S. assessments indicated may have already killed or injured tens of thousand civilians and hundreds, of thousands of soldiers.

Six people were killed in a Russian S-300 missile attack that occurred overnight in Mykolaiv. It is located about 68 km (42 miles) away from Kherson, the regional capital of Kherson, Zelenskyy’s Office reported Friday morning. Searchers and rescue crews searched through the rubble of a five story residential building to find survivors.

Roman Mamontov (16) waited for news about his mother’s disappearance as he stood in front of the apartment that used to belong to his family.

Mamontov claimed he saw “nothing” after he opened his apartment door to search for his mother after the missile hit. Friday marked her 34th birthday, she stated.

“My mind was completely blank that instant. He said, “I thought it couldn’t be true.” “The cake she made for the celebration is still there.”

Zelenskyy described the missile strike as “the terrorist state’s cynical reaction to our successes at war front.”

“Russia will not abandon its deplorable tactics. We will not relinquish our fight. “The occupiers will face justice for all crimes against Ukraine and Ukrainians,” Zelenskyy stated.

According to the president’s office, at least 14 civilians were killed by Russian drones, rockets, and heavy artillery in eight different regions between Thursday morning (and Friday morning).

Over 50 rockets were fired in the Dnipropetrovsk area overnight, near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. According to Gov. Valentyn Reznichenko.

Friday’s status of the Antonivskiy Bridge, which links the eastern and western banks of Dnieper in Kherson region, remained uncertain. This bridge could prove crucial in determining whether all the Russians left Kherson city.

Russian media reported that the bridge had been destroyed following Russia’s withdrawal. Pro-Kremlin journalists posted footage showing the bridge with a missing section. Sergei Yeliseyev of Russia, an official in the Kherson area, said to Interfax that the Antonivskiy Bridge had not been destroyed, but it was in the same condition.