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Kherson's liberation and the war's wider pressures
Summary
A look back at 12 November 2022, the day after Ukrainian troops entered Kherson, and at what the preceding days showed about the southern front.
What did the recapture of Kherson mean for the war in the south? On 12 November 2022, the question was fresh: a day earlier, on 11 November, Ukrainian troops had entered the city, ending an eight-month occupation by Russian forces. Kherson was the only Ukrainian regional capital Russia had captured during the invasion.
A fast closing of the gap
The entry into the city followed a short run of advances. On 10 November, Ukrainian troops recaptured the village of Kyselivka, bringing them within nine miles of the city centre of Kherson. Explosions were reported near the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. The same day, the Ukrainian military said it had recaptured Snihurivka in Mykolaiv Oblast, described as the last remaining city in that oblast under Russian control.
These gains belonged to the wider southern counteroffensive. As background, that operation had been launched on 29 August 2022 with the aim of expelling Russian forces from the southern regions of Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts. By 12 November, the Mykolaiv Oblast objective had been reported as met in terms of cities, and the regional capital of Kherson was back under Ukrainian control.
Bridges and the Dnieper
The retreat was not a clean handover. On 11 November, Russian forces destroyed the Antonivka Road Bridge as they withdrew from the west of the Dnieper. The destruction of a crossing of that kind shaped the terrain on 12 November: the river became the dividing line between the forces, and the loss of the bridge limited movement across it.
Weapons from abroad
Foreign military support continued alongside the advance. On 10 November, the Pentagon announced a package worth $400 million. It included four AN/TWQ-1 Avenger surface-to-air missile systems, Stinger missiles, 400 grenade launchers, 100 humvees, and artillery rounds and small arms ammunition. The announcement showed that Western assistance was still being supplied while Ukrainian forces were retaking territory.
Moscow's diplomatic response
On 11 November, the Russian Foreign Ministry banned 200 U.S. citizens from entering Russia. The list included White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and three siblings of President Joe Biden. The measure was a diplomatic step rather than a military one, and it took place on the same day Ukrainian troops entered Kherson.
The economic backdrop
The war's effects reached well beyond the front line. On 11 November, the Food and Agriculture Organization forecast that global spending on food imports would rise by 10 percent from the previous year by the end of 2022, reaching an all-time high of US$1.94 trillion. It attributed this to currency depreciations and the war in Ukraine. The bulk of the increase in spending was expected to come from high-income countries, and import volumes were also expected to rise.
As background, 2022 saw significant food price inflation and shortages in several regions, with causes that included pandemic-related supply disruption, the global energy crisis, the invasion itself, and floods, heatwaves and droughts.
What the day showed
Taken together, the reports around 12 November 2022 describe a war with several fronts at once: a territorial reversal in the south, continued Western arms deliveries, a diplomatic sanctions exchange, and economic strain felt far from the battlefield. The recapture of Kherson was the most visible of these, given the city's status as the only regional capital Russia had taken.
