Large crowds celebrated in the streets of Kherson on Friday, following the Ukrainian city’s liberation from Russian occupation, NPR reports.
Russian troops retreated from the city following orders from Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Wednesday.
Residents chanted “glory to the Armed Forces” and greeted Ukrainian soldiers as they arrived to help liberate the city, according to the local outlet Kyiv Independent. Social media users circulated videos of the celebrations online, remarking on the unique occasion.
“Moments like this happened very rarely in history. Nobody will ever forget this,” wrote one person on Twitter.
Iuliia Mendel, a former spokesperson for the country’s president, shared a video of her aunt from the Kherson region hugging a Ukrainian soldier. “She even doesn’t know to have become an internet star,” Mendel wrote.
Kherson, the only provincial capital to be captured since Russia’s invasion began in February, was not the only area freed this week.
The town of Snihurivka, in the neighboring Mykolaiv region, was liberated Thursday, CNN reported. Residents told the outlet that a police station there was used as a “base of torture.” A 15-year-old girl said she was kidnapped in the final days of the occupation and feared she would be raped, before eventually going free Thursday.
Snihurivka residents recalled widespread looting by Russian troops, and they were left with no gas or electricity, according to CNN. The regional governor addressed the crowds celebrating the liberation, promising government support in the coming days through humanitarian assistance.
As Ukrainians take to the streets in elation, the national government remains suspicious of Russia’s declared departure, according to NPR. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted Wednesday that actions speak louder than words, calling announcements like that from Shoigu “staged TV statements.”
“We see no signs that Russia is leaving Kherson without a fight,” Podolyak wrote.
The government has previously suggested that Russia could try to draw Ukrainian troops into battle by pretending to pull out of the city, according to The Associated Press.
Gen. Sergei Surovikin, the commander of Russia’s forces in Ukraine, had recommended to Shoigu that Russia evacuate Kherson and instead move to the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, NPR reported. “We will save the lives of our military personnel and the combat capability of our forces,” Surovikin said.
But U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday that the planned evacuation was evidence of “real problems” with Moscow’s military.