Ukraine Doubts Kherson Retreat: Warfare is Deception

I’ve got some questions about Kherson myself.

All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when we are able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must appear inactive.”
Sun Tzu

Ukraine is not celebrating Russia’s retreat from Kherson

But Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have urged caution and say they are skeptical of Russia’s intentions in retreating from the western portion of the southern Kherson region.

Kherson became the first major region to fall to Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s forces after the war began. It had been Russia’s biggest military achievement of the conflict, in part due to its strategic location and proximity to Crimea.

Quick to express caution was Nataliia Humeniuk, head of the joint coordination press center of Ukraine’s Southern Defense and Security Forces, who suggested that Russia’s statement on the withdrawal may be part of a psychological operation to mislead Kyiv.

“Our defense forces do not rule out provocations on the part of the Russian occupiers as they might be creating a false impression about their true intentions,” she told Ukrainian news outlet Suspilne.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelensky, is another Ukrainian official to express skepticism about the Russian withdrawal.

He said that a significant number of Russian military personnel remain in the Kherson region and that Kyiv sees no signs that Russia will retreat without a fight, despite the statements made by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, meanwhile, told reporters that “Russians cannot be trusted” and that “the art of war includes the art of deceiving the enemy.”

I listened to the Military Summary Report from yesterday and it does seem as if no Russian forces have left as of that time.

Interesting that the Ukrainians are themselves skeptical. What if anything do they know that we do not?