The Russian Armed Forces, which had occupied the city since 2 March 2022, withdrew and retreated to the left bank of the Kherson Oblast over the course of 9–11 November 2022.

[1] Ukrainian armour and columns closed in on Kherson proper as they moved past several towns, villages and suburbs, where they were greeted by cheering and flag-waving civilians.

[1] The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed on 11 November 5 a.m. Moscow time (2 a.m. UTC) that all soldiers (approximately 30,000) and all military equipment had been successfully moved across the river in an orderly withdrawal.

[1] Deutsche Welle reported that major equipment pieces such as anti-aircraft defence systems appeared to have been successfully transferred to the other bank, but this would leave troops stuck on the northern side vulnerable to Ukrainian artillery and drone attacks.

[1] Similarly in Bilozerka, a town on the western edge of Kherson city, residents tore down propaganda billboards with a young girl holding a Russian flag, which read: "Russia is here forever (Россия здесь навсегда)".

[16] Kherson residents were seen dancing in the darkness around a bonfire singing "Chervona Kalyna", a Ukrainian patriotic song that had been banned by Russian occupation authorities for nine months.

[24] On 12 November, the occupying forces declared Henichesk, a port city on the Sea of Azov, to be the "temporary administrative capital of the Kherson region".

[25] During the withdrawal, Russian soldiers took the bones of the 18th century Prince Grigory Aleksandrovich Potemkin, who was considered the modern founder of the city, from Kherson's St. Catherine's Cathedral.

[26] Initially, most of the city's inhabitants were euphoric, celebrating the Russian withdrawal in public, and welcoming the Ukrainian forces as liberators, while others were worried about the time ahead.

"[31] Satellite images from Maxar Technologies showed that major damage to infrastructure had been done during the withdrawal from Kherson, including the destruction of at least seven bridges, four of them across the river Dnipro, within 24 hours.

[16] Central part of the Antonivka Road Bridge were destroyed; according to a reporter from the pro-Russian newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda at the scene, "[t]hey were likely blown up during the withdrawal of the Russian group of forces from the right bank to the left".

[6] President Zelenskyy said on 12 November: "Before fleeing from Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all the critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity.

[38][39] In addition, Russian army took away monuments to Alexander Suvorov, Fyodor Ushakov, Vasily Margelov, Grigory Potemkin and remains of the latter.

[42] In late October 2022, the Russian military 'evacuated' at least 70,000 civilians from Kherson to the eastern bank of the river Dnipro; Ukrainian authorities alleged that these relocations were forced, and called them 'deportations'.

"[44]: 6:12 Yaroslav Yanushevych, the new Ukrainian governor of Kherson Oblast since August 2022, stated on 18 November: "[Evacuating residents] depends on whether there will be electricity.

"[46] Governor of Mykolaiv Oblast Vitalii Kim warned that there were still "a lot of mines in the liberated territories and settlements", and: "Don't go there for no reason.

[47] In response to the withdrawal of its military forces from the city, the Russian government reiterated its claim that Kherson Oblast remains a federal subject of Russia.

[5][48] The withdrawal was praised amongst NATO members, with President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan characterizing it as "positive and important" and that he would continue diplomacy with Russia.