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Ukrainian troops advanced south on Thursday after Moscow ordered one of the biggest retreats of the war, though Kyiv remained publicly suspicious, warning that the Russians’ flight could turn Kherson into a ‘city of death’ .

CONFLICT

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* Ukrainian army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said Kyiv could not yet confirm whether Russia was indeed withdrawing, but that Ukrainian troops had advanced 7 km (4 miles) in the past 24 hours and resumed 12 settlements.

* A small group of Ukrainian soldiers was broadcast on Ukrainian state television in the center of the village of Snihurivka, about 55 km north of the city of Kherson. They were greeted by dozens of residents in a square, with a Ukrainian flag flying from a flagpole behind them. Reuters has verified the location of the video.

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* Moscow on Wednesday ordered its troops to withdraw from the entire Russian-held pocket on the west bank of the Dnipro, including the city of Kherson, the only regional capital Russia has captured in nine months of war.

* A senior adviser to the Ukrainian president said Russia wanted to make Kherson a ‘city of death’ and accused Moscow of mining everything from apartments to sewers and planning to bomb the city from across the river Dnipro.

* The Ukrainian military said Russian forces were continuing offensive operations near Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the Donetsk region and near Novopavlivsk in the Mykolaiv region.

DIPLOMACY

* Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend a gathering of Group of 20 (G20) leaders next week in person, but could join virtually, officials from Russia and host country Indonesia said.

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* Russia will announce a number of initiatives related to gas cooperation with Turkey and grain exports at the G20 meeting, its foreign ministry said.

* US President Joe Biden has said he expects US aid to Ukraine to continue uninterrupted despite skepticism expressed by Republicans who appear poised to take control of the House of Representatives American.

* US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Washington was not pressuring Ukraine to engage in diplomacy with Russia during the war.

ECONOMY & SANCTIONS

* The British government said it had frozen assets worth a total of 18 billion pounds ($20.5 billion) held by Russian oligarchs, other people and entities sanctioned for the invasion of the Ukraine via Moscow.

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* Jersey police have admitted carrying out unlawful searches at premises allegedly linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and have agreed to pay damages and apologize, according to a legal document seen by Reuters.

* Ukraine’s Economy Minister Yulia Syvrydenko said Russia’s destruction of civilian infrastructure would widen the expected contraction in gross domestic output to 39% from an earlier forecast of a 35% drop.

QUOTATION

“This is a validation of Ukraine’s military strategy and the approach taken by its senior leadership. They are successful and the Russians know it,” tweeted Mick Ryan, a retired Australian general. “Now is NOT the time to force Ukraine into negotiations.”

(Compiled by Andrew Heavens)