Russian troops start retreating from Kherson to eastern bank of Dnieper River

The Russian army started moving troops from Ukraine's Kherson city to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River, the Defense Ministry announced on Thursday.

"In the Mykolaiv-Kryvyi Rih direction, the forces of the Russian group is carrying out a maneuver to prepared positions on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnieper River," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at a press briefing in Moscow.

Konashenkov added that the Ukrainian army attempted a counter-offensive in three other directions, but all attacks were "successfully" thwarted.

Russia's defense minister on Wednesday ordered the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine's southern port city of Kherson to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River.

Shoygu stressed that the decision for the retreat was made to save the lives of Russian soldiers.

Last month, some 60,000 residents of Ukraine's Kherson region, then under Russian control, were evacuated amid a Ukrainian counter-offensive.

Sergey Surovikin, the commander of the Russian military group in Ukraine, said the military had stayed to ensure the safe evacuation of civilians, and now that their task is completed, they can withdraw.