Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

We're now seeing videos of Ukrainian soldiers arriving in different areas of Kherson city and we've now heard from the defence ministry in Kyiv that they are almost in full control.

The first videos posted on social media showed the army arriving in a western district. Now we have footage of soldiers being hugged as they plant a flag outside the main police headquarters in Liuteranska St, which is deep in the south of the city.

Russia's defence ministry said its withdrawal from the city only ended in the early hours of this morning so the change of power in Kherson is moving fast. We don't yet know where in Kherson the Ukrainian army is still to reach.

But in the past hour we have also seen video of a crowd outside the main admin building in the centre of the city welcoming a man and a woman in uniform and chanting "ZSU, ZSU!", the initials for the Ukrainian armed forces.

Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's defence ministry, tells the BBC Ukraine is "almost in full control" of Kherson.

So far, we've had reports from Moscow that Russian forces have retreated from Kherson and we have seen various videos on social media of Ukrainian flags flying above administration buildings.

Now Ukraine's defence ministry says Kherson is returning to Ukrainian control and army units are making their way into the city.

In a Facebook post, external, they urge any Russian troops left in the city to immediately surrender.

The Russian retreat from Kherson appears to be a hugely significant moment in the war.

Let's have a quick recap of the last few hours:

• Ukraine has hailed an "important victory" after Russian troops withdrew from the southern city of Kherson
• In the centre of Kherson Ukrainian flags fly high above the regional administration building - it isn't fully clear who is in control in Kherson but the Ukrainian flags suggest Russian presence in the city is no longer visible
• Footage has emerged of a partially collapsed Antonivskiy Bridge - the main crossing over the Dnipro River
• The BBC has been unable to verify how the bridge has been destroyed or who was responsible
• Vladimir Putin's spokesman denies the retreat is humiliating for the president as Russian officials describe the withdrawal as merely a "redeployment"
• Elsewhere, in the nearby city of Mykolaiv a missile strike on a residential tower has killed at least seven people
• A service has been held in the Crimean city of Simferopol for the Russian-installed deputy governor of Kherson Kirill Stremousov who reportedly died in a car crash on Tuesday

Reasons for caution after Russian troops withdrawal from Khersonpublished at 13:28 Greenwich Mean Time 11 November 2022

13:28 GMT 11 November 2022

Frank Gardner
BBC Security Correspondent

For Ukraine, the Russian withdrawal from Kherson is almost too good to be true.

Ukrainian intelligence officers have been harbouring suspicions this could be an example of Russian ‘maskirovka’ or deception, an attempt to lure advancing Ukrainian troops into some kind of trap.

But even if the city is abandoned by every last Russian soldier and mercenary the Ukrainians will have to proceed with extreme caution, clearing it block by block of any unmarked minefields and booby traps.

With Russian forces now going firm on the opposite bank of the River Dnipro, dug in with defensive positions in depth, Kherson can expect as much of a bombardment of artillery and explosive drones as Russia’s supply chain can muster.

But if this Russian withdrawal is as serious a setback for Moscow as it does appear to be then there are two ways this could possibly go.

It could, potentially force wiser heads in the Kremlin to seek a pragmatic way out of this quagmire they’ve got themselves into.

Or, if recent history is anything to judge by, it could prompt an angry and frustrated President Putin to punish the Ukrainian population yet again with a series of painful strikes.

Image source, UNIAN

More photos are emerging from Kherson where civilians have raised flags to celebrate Ukraine's advances against Russia in the region.

One posted on social media, and verified by the BBC, appears to show a young girl holding a Ukrainian flag, waiting for Kherson's "defenders" to return to the city.

Ukrainian news company, Unian, posted the picture on Telegram, along with the caption: "People are waiting for our defenders. The flag is already flying over the Kherson Regional State Administration.

"Historic day! Glory to the APU (Armed forces of Ukraine)!"

Vitaliy Shevchenko
BBC Monitoring, reporting from London

Image source, EPA

Looking at how this is being covered in Russia it is nothing short of staggering.

Official media are trying to look the other way and play it down. They call what is happening in Kherson a manoeuvre, a redeployment or a regrouping and they have presented it in rather positive terms for the Russians.

But, looking at social media where there are a lot more diverse opinions - and particularly the pro-war commentators - they are shocked. They are aghast.

Some of them say this is Russia's worst defeat since the break-up of the Soviet Union, which will scar our hearts forever.

That's the kind of rhetoric they're using.

Of course, this has a huge impact on President Vladimir Putin's standing and the ability to carry on pursuing what he calls the special military operation.

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has hailed Russia's withdrawal from Kherson city and the surrounding areas as a victory.

It was only yesterday that Ukraine's commander-in-chief announced that the army had advanced 7km (4 miles) on two fronts - but they were still some distance from the regional capital.

We have reports that Ukrainian forces have already been welcomed in a western district of the regional capital.

In this post on social media, Kuleba talks about a Russian poster being torn down in Bilozerka - that's a village 10km to the west of Kherson.

Image source, Unian / Telegram

Ukrainian flags have been raised at the regional administration building in Kherson.

An EU flag is also visible in pictures posted on social media verified by the BBC.

It still isn't clear who is in control of Kherson, but if residents feel confident appearing on the streets with Ukrainian flags it suggests there is no longer a visible Russian presence in the city.

Image source, Unian / Telegram

Will Vernon
Reporting from Moscow

Shortly before the defence ministry announced that the military withdrawal was complete, Putin's spokesman avoided questions on the situation in southern Ukraine.

Instead Dmitry Peskov told journalists to address them to the Defence Ministry.

But the BBC managed to ask Peskov how the Kremlin responded to those who said the withdrawal from Kherson was a blow to Putin’s prestige, even a humiliation?

Peskov said: “There are lots of different experts – some say what you’ve said, some say other things. We don’t want to comment on any of them. The ‘special military operation’ continues.”

Asked whether he thought it was a humiliation for the president, Peskov said no.

It was only at the end of September that Putin had celebrated the annexation of four occupied regions including Kherson, and Peskov confirmed Russia saw the entire region as still part of Russia.

Paul Kirby
Europe digital editor

The short answer is we don't yet know but pictures are emerging on social media of Ukrainians draped in flags walking around the centre of Kherson taking photos.

If Russia's withdrawal really is complete that would imply that Kherson is now back in Ukrainian hands. We know the army will not be in a rush to move in, although there are also pictures emerging from the western side of Kherson showing Ukrainian soldiers being welcomed as they arrive.

As my colleague Jeremy Bowen spelt out in this piece, there are deep suspicions that the Russians may have left a trap for the returning Ukrainians so their move into the city will be cautious.

The first indications we had that Russian forces may have abandoned the centre of Kherson came from a local journalist, Konstantyn Ryzhenko, who posted this photo on the messaging app Telegram showing a Ukrainian flag hoisted outside the main admin building. We cannot say for sure when it was taken but it was then shared by other Ukrainians.

The resistance he refers to are local so-called "partisans" who have waged a campaign against Russia's forces since they seized Kherson at the start of the war in early March.

This story is moving fast, but it's far too early to say that Kherson is under Ukrainian control.

Image source, Reuters

In other developments this morning, in the nearby city of Mykolayiv - around 95km northwest of Kherson - at least six people have been killed after a missile hit an apartment block.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has described the missile attack as "cynical".

Zelensky wrote on Telegram, in Ukrainian and English: "Mykolayiv. It was the terrorist state's cynical response to our frontline successes.

"A five-storey residential building was struck. All five storeys were destroyed.

"Unfortunately, people were killed and wounded. The search-and-rescue operation continues.

"Russia continues with its hideous tactics. But we continue with our fight. The occupiers will be brought to account for each crime against Ukraine and Ukrainians."

• The BBC's Jeremy Bowen recently wrote about why Ukrainians still fear a trap as Russians retreat

This could be the biggest moment since Russia's withdrawal from Kyivpublished at 11:15 Greenwich Mean Time 11 November 2022

11:15 GMT 11 November 2022

Paul Adams
BBC Diplomatic correspondent

If Kherson is back in Ukrainian hands by the end of the day, which seems possible, then this would be a hugely consequential moment in the nearly nine-month-long war.

The loss of Kherson is on a par with Russia's humiliating withdrawal from the capital Kyiv earlier in the year, and caps a stunning three-month change of fortunes for the Ukrainians.

Nothing has gone Russia's way for months. They've lost huge swathes of territory in the east of the country - the flagship of their Black Sea fleet has been sunk and a crucial bridge from Russia to occupied Crimea is still out of action.

With winter approaching, the question is what happens next.

James Waterhouse
Kyiv correspondent, BBC News

It’s not immediately clear what caused the Antonivskiy Bridge to collapse, but this is a crossing that had been gradually damaged by Ukrainian missiles.

Defending troops have been trying to isolate Russian forces as they try to liberate the only regional capital to have fallen to Moscow.

Footage also shows Russian soldiers trying to escape along a nearby footbridge in a night which has seen heavy shelling along the Dnipro river.

The Kremlin has denied that its withdrawal is a “failure” - instead claiming it was a decision for the country’s defence ministry.

Kyiv has taken a more triumphant tone - describing Russia’s operation as “the world’s second army fleeing on foot”.

Image source, Reuters

It was around 05:00 (03:00 GMT) this morning that residents in Kherson reported hearing explosions on the Antonivskiy bridge.

Russian war reporter Sasha Kots posted a video on social media in front of a destroyed section of the bridge in which he said: "There are none of our [Russian] troops on the other side of the river. It looks like the enemy hasn’t reached the bridge from the other side yet."

Image source, Telegram/sashakots

This is another video posted on social media that appears to show Russian troops crossing the River Dnipro on a pontoon bridge below the Antonivskiy Bridge.

Judging from the fact that the bridge appears to be in one piece, this video was filmed before this morning's explosions.

Will Vernon
Reporting from Moscow

The Russian defence ministry says the "redeployment" - this means withdrawal - of forces to the eastern side of the Dnipro River has finished.

In its daily update, the military said “At 05:00 Moscow time today, the redeployment of Russian units to the left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro River was completed.

"During the redeployment, not a single piece of military hardware or weaponry was left behind.

"All Russian service personnel were moved across, there were no losses of men, hardware or materiel of the Russian forces group.“

The statement went on to list alleged successes for the Russian military in Ukraine in the last 24 hours.

More on the breaking news out of southern Ukraine now.

All morning, photos have appeared on social media showing several spans destroyed on the only road bridge out of Kherson. That prompted bloggers who closely follow the war to say Russia's withdrawal from the western bank of the Dnipro river was over.

Now the defence ministry in Moscow, cited by Tass news agency, has confirmed that all of the Russian servicemen on the western bank have crossed to the other side.

It was on Wednesday that Russia's military top brass announced they were withdrawing from that side of the river. The decision to retreat is a significant blow for Russia's military in the face of a Ukrainian counter-offensive. President Vladimir Putin did not take part in the televised announcement.

The ministry said on Friday that there were no losses of personnel, weapons or military equipment and that no hardware was left behind.

Image source, .

Good morning and welcome back to our live coverage of the war in Ukraine. Here's the latest:

• We're just getting reports that Russian forces have now completely withdrawn from Kherson - the only regional capital it captured after invading Ukraine in February. Russian state media is reporting this, citing the defence ministry
• Pictures that emerged earlier this morning appeared to show that the Antonivskiy Bridge - the main bridge from the city of Kherson used by Russian forces to get to the eastern side of the Dnipro river - had been destroyed. It is unclear at this stage what caused the bridge to collapse

• The Kremlin has meanwhile taken pains to restate that the decision to pull out of Kherson was made by the defence ministry

• President Volodymyr Zelensky said overnight that Ukrainian forces had recaptured over 40 settlements in their advance through the south of the country
• Elsewhere, in the nearby city of Mykolaiv, Ukraine says at least six people have been killed in a missile strike which partially destroyed an apartment block

Image source, Reuters

We're wrapping up our live coverage of the war in Ukraine for the day. Before we go, here's a round-up of what's been happening today:

• The Ukrainian military's counter-offensive in Kherson is continuing a day after Russia announced it was withdrawing of its troops from the southern city

• Ukrainian military's commander-in-chief said Russian troops were left with no other option but to flee the city, with President Volodymyr Zelensky saying his country is moving "very carefully" in response to the announcement
• The Russian Defence Ministry said it was moving its men out of the Kherson Region to the other side of the Dnipro river, describing the situation as a "manoeuvring", rather than a withdrawal
• There have also been reports the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv has been completely liberated from Russian control
• Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Russia leaving Kherson would be "another victory" for Ukraine as the war continues into its ninth month
• Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin won't attend the upcoming G20 summit, due to be held in Bali, Indonesia, next week

The map below shows the latest verified information we have about who controls which areas in Ukraine.

Today's page was written by Anna Boyd, Sam Hancock, Rachel Russell, Imogen James and Marita Moloney. It was edited by Jeremy Gahagan and Andrew Humphrey.

Image source, .

The governor of Mykolayiv region, Vitaliy Kim, has asked residents of recently recaptured territories in Ukraine's south to wait before returning to their homes.

"People who left Snihurivka and other population centres earlier, do not rush to come back. It is too early," Kim said on Telegram.

He added that preparations are being made for resuming heating and electricity supplies to the recaptured population centres.

"We are preparing to send all administrative personnel back there to make the liberated population centres fully functional," Kim continued.