Ukraine Withdraws Report on Russian Troop Withdrawal from Nova Kakhovka

The Ukrainian military command retracted a report on Thursday that mistakenly stated that Russian troops had withdrawn from the town of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army clarified in a rare reversal that Russian forces remain in the town located on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River. They added that the initial report was published "due to a misuse of available data" and did not provide further details. The Russian-appointed governor of the Kherson region, Volodymyr Saldo, denied the accuracy of the report earlier. Russian troops were redeployed to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in November after abandoning their positions on the western bank in the face of a counteroffensive from Ukrainian forces. The General Staff had indicated in its evening report outlining the situation at the front lines that Russian forces had left the town of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. The report stated that "Russian troops stole equipment, valuables, clothing, and mobile phones from nearby homes during their departure."