Ukraine’s Kherson Breakthrough – WSJ

As Ukrainian troops rolled into Kherson, residents cheered, waved Ukrainian flags, and played the national anthem. Friday’s exuberant response gives the lie to the Kremlin’s claims in September that Kherson oblast had overwhelmingly voted in support of Russia’s annexation. That referendum was held under occupation terror.

As in the north in Kharkiv, Ukraine has made good use of more advanced Western weapons to move on the Russians. The Himar missile system the U.S. withheld in the war’s early months has been especially effective. Ukraine pummeled the

Antonivskyi Bridge

across the Dnipro and made Russian resupply difficult.

The Kremlin claims it has evacuated some 70,000 people from Kherson on humanitarian grounds, but it’s far from clear they all moved voluntarily. Russia has repeatedly taken Ukrainian civilians as hostages, with some forcibly resettled in Russia. In the Donbas in the east, Ukrainians have sometimes been conscripted to fight against their own countrymen.

If the pattern around Kyiv and Kharkiv holds, Ukrainians will discover evidence and testimony of brutal Russian tactics against civilians. The city remains within the reach of Russian artillery, and thousands are without reliable electricity, heat, food and water as winter looms. The Ukrainians will also face a tougher fight if they press east across the Dnipro, given the logistics of resupplying the front lines over a bridge-less river.

On Thursday the U.S. announced another $400 million in military aid for Ukraine, including munitions for its Himars, four Avenger air-defense systems with missiles, and the HAWK air-defense systems provided by Spain. The latter will be useful as Russia launches missiles and Iranian drones at Ukrainian cities and civilian infrastructure far from the front lines. Ukraine has been seeking longer-range ATACMS missiles for its Himars, and the Biden Administration’s reluctance is hard to explain.

Ukraine’s Kherson victory is especially timely given this week’s leaks that the Biden Administration is leaning on Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelensky

to negotiate with the Russians. Such reports telegraph Western weakness despite the strength Ukrainians have shown on the battlefield. They also bolster Vladimir Putin’s hopes that he can outlast Western support.

Any settlement now would give the Russians a chance to regroup, reinforce their defensive positions, and prepare for a renewed attack. Every war ends with some kind of negotiation, but Ukraine has earned the chance to restore its Feb. 24 borders, at the very least, before it sits across from Mr. Putin.