Liberation of Kherson sparks outpouring of joy and tears in Kyiv

On Maidan Square, in the centre of Kyiv, dozens of Ukrainians gather to celebrate after Ukraine's armed forces entered the city of Kherson in the south of the country, the first scene of real popular jubilation in the capital nearly nine months after Russia's invasion began. Many residents of Kherson who fled Russia's army rejoice at the prospect of their returning.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Kherson was "ours" after Russia announced the completion of its withdrawal from the regional capital, the only one Moscow had captured since its invasion began on February 24.

"As of now, our defenders are on the outskirts of the city. But special units are already in the city," Zelensky wrote on social media.

The city could open a gateway for Ukraine's forces to the entire Kherson region, with access to both the Black Sea in the west and Sea of Azov in the east.

The announcement that Ukrainian forces were entering Kherson sparked a rare flurry of joy in Kyiv, music in the streets and blaring car horns.

Kherson inhabitants who left for Kyiv when Russian soldiers captured their city in March began converging on Maidan Square, draped in flags and hugging each other.

Under the square's victory column commemorating Ukraine's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Kherson's displaced residents belted out the national anthem in unison and wiped their tears.

Kherson was one of four regions in Ukraine that Putin claimed to have annexed during the September ceremony, vowing at the time to use all available methods to defend it.