Russian hawks defend the decision to withdraw from Kherson

Leading Russian hawks today immediately stood behind the decision to leave the Ukrainian city of Kherson, which is considered one of Moscow's biggest humiliations in nearly nine months of war.

The withdrawal proposed by General Sergei Surovikin means Moscow is giving up a strategic city north of annexed Crimea, the only Ukrainian provincial capital it has captured since the February 24 invasion began.

Surovikin was appointed last month to take overall control of Russia's operation in Ukraine.

As Ukraine threatens to push Russian forces back to the west bank of the Dnieper River where they cannot be easily supplied, Surovikin suggested to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu that Russia take up new defensive positions on the opposite bank of the river to save soldiers' lives.

Shoigu agreed and ordered the troops to withdraw.

A Russian military blogger described the decision as "a black page in the history of the Russian military," writes Reuters.

However, some of the most prominent advocates of the war immediately supported it as a wise and necessary action.

"After considering all the reasons for and against, General Surovikin made a difficult but correct decision between senseless sacrifices for the sake of loud announcements and saving the precious lives of our soldiers," said Ramzan Kadyrov, the Chechen leader who often calls for a more aggressive approach to the war and even called for the use of lower-intensity nuclear weapons.

An increasingly vocal advocate of war, Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group fighting on Russia's side in Ukraine, said: "The decision made by Surovikin was not easy, but he acted as a man who is not afraid of responsibility."

Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT state television, went a step further and compared the withdrawal to General Mikhail Kutuzov's decision to surrender Moscow to Napoleon in 1812 to save his army and Russia.

In recent weeks, Simonyan sharply criticized the chaotic Russian military mobilization, while both Kadyrov and Prigozhin, before the appointment of Surovikin, criticized the conduct of the war and ridiculed some generals.

Reuters said today's comments indicated an effort to jointly support the top military leadership at a dangerous time in the war and demonstrate unity.

The agency estimates that the loss of the city represents a major blow to President Vladimir Putin, the commander-in-chief of the Russian armed forces, who has so far been spared public criticism as hawks like Prigozhin and Kadyrov have directed their anger at the generals.

Reuters points out that despite today's show of unity, Prigozhin's comments point to a potential settling of accounts.

He said that it is necessary to "draw conclusions and work on mistakes. And after that, see who is right, who should be blamed and what is the essence of the problem."