(Reuters) -Russian forces destroyed the critical infrastructure in the southern city of Kherson before fleeing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Saturday, adding that local authorities were starting to stabilise the city.
Jubilant residents welcomed troops arriving in the centre of Kherson on Friday after Russia abandoned the only regional capital it had captured since the start of the war.
“Before fleeing from Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all the critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity,” Zelenskiy said in a video address.
“(Russians) everywhere have the same goal: to humiliate people as much as possible. But we will restore everything, believe me,” he continued.
Zelenskiy said Ukrainian troops had taken control of more than 60 settlements in the Kherson region.
“Police have launched stabilization measures. Stabilization measures are also underway in Kherson,” he said.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
