- Russian forces have captured Kherson, which is the first major Ukrainian city to fall to Russia.
- The key southern city of nearly 300,000 residents was captured on Wednesday.
- Kherson Mayor Igor Kolykhaev said that a Russian military administration is being set up.
Kherson, a city in southern Ukraine along the Black Sea, has become the first major city to fall to Russian forces since they invaded on February 24.
The city of nearly 300,000 residents was captured by the Russians after nearly a week of failure to break Ukrainian resistance, The New York Times reported.
Mayor Igor Kolykhaev met on Wednesday with a Russian commander who will introduce a military administration, according to the report.
"There is no Ukrainian Army here," he told the paper. "The city is surrounded."
Ukrainian forces retreated to nearby Mykolaiv, according to the report. AFP reported earlier on Wednesday that Russian forces claimed they had captured Kherson.
Russian forces have waged an intense war on Ukraine since last week, engaging in heavy shelling and missile attacks that have hit residential buildings, an orphanage, kindergartens, and a children's hospital, according to the Ukrainian government.
Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, and Kyiv, the country's capital, have both been under intense shelling and airstrikes as Russian forces have struggled to capture the other major urban centers.
Notably, during Russia's campaign it has shown a seemingly lack of acknowledgment for distinguishing between military and civilian targets, sending shockwaves through the international community and united Western nations in unprecedented ways that may result in the opposite of what Putin had hoped for.
Among other things, Western nations have imposed harsh and crippling sanctions on Russia's financial institutions and central bank that could hurt its ability to finance Putin's war in Ukraine. Many European countries have also reversed long-standing policies against getting involved in conflict zones and said they would send weapons and financial assistance to aid Ukraine.
Russia has been kicked out of major sports organizations including FIFA, the International Skating Union, and the International Ice Hockey Federation.
And Putin's actions have resulted in such a major disruption for Russia's economy and markets that even some of his closest allies, like the oligarchs Mikhail Fridman and Oleg Deripaska, have tentatively spoken out against the war.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Russian forces have faced fierce resistance from the Ukrainian military and civilian defense forces. But experts warned that the fight is far from over.
"Russian military is suspending unsupported thunder runs, resupplying, and reorganizing," Michael Kofman, the Russia expert at CNA, tweeted Monday. "Ukraine's military has performed rly well, but I think we're going to see a different Russian approach moving forward."