Jubilant residents welcomed Ukrainian troops arriving in the center of Kherson on Friday after Russia abandoned the only regional capital it had captured since its invasion began in February.
"Today is a historic day. We are getting the south of the country back, we are getting Kherson back," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an evening video address.
"As of now, our defenders are on the outskirts of the city, and we are very close to entering. But special units are already in the city," he said.