The US-NATO-EU-Ukraine bloc was in total jubilation when Russia unilaterally retreated from Kherson. Their celebrations are premature. They branded the move as a 'humiliation' and a 'total defeat', not knowing of a possible deeper reason why the Russians left.

It is not hard to discern the Russian strategy if you understand a little bit of history and military tactics. Kherson's civilian population is 76.6 percent ethnic Russians and 20 percent Russians, or a total of 96.6 percent. Russian occupation or 'annex' of Kherson was not really an invasion because it was clearly inhabited by Russians for decades now, whatever present borders and the regimes are in place.

Kherson is of critically strategic importance to Russia because it is the fortress guarding its underbelly, the very Russian shores exposed to the Black Sea that is open to a possible US-NATO invasion. It is the first and only city completely occupied by Russian forces in the entire invasion as of this writing. It secures Russian naval forces in the Black Sea preventing a Western naval initiative.

Russia built Kherson in 1778 as a naval base and shipyard on the Black Sea.

Why would Russia leave this strategic port if it is so important to them? Was it, in fact, a way to 'save' Kherson from an imminent Ukraine counter-offensive? Kherson's population has dwindled to 80,000 from 300,000 during the Russian retreat. Zelensky claims Kherson is now 'liberated' and 'occupied' by Ukraine because the Russians have left. But did they really liberate and are now occupying Kherson? Or was it just token troops, who were met with "hugs and kisses" by a few in a photo-op, as the rest of the majority 80,000 Russians stayed in their homes in angry silence?

Ukraine claims its forces are 'consolidating gains and are now busy clearing obstacles and mines'. (US Department of Defense, 14 November 2022). The report did not mention a true military presence of tanks and occupational troops.

Meanwhile, the Russians who retreated regrouped to the east, on the west bank of the nearby Dnipro River, not far from Kherson. This implies it is not really a retreat but a tactical move to empty Kherson of Russian soldiers and civilians to avoid casualties if Russian plans to obliterate and retake Kherson. This makes sense to make Kherson an open city. Meanwhile, Russian and Ukrainian forces are eyeball to eyeball, separated by the river 250 kilometers apart.