Russia's war on Ukraine latest news: Moscow orders Kherson retreat

Ukrainian troops advanced in the south on Thursday after Moscow ordered one of the war's biggest retreats, though Kyiv remained publicly wary, warning that fleeing Russians could turn Kherson into a "city of death".

Ukrainian troops advanced in the south on Thursday after Moscow ordered one of the war's biggest retreats, though Kyiv remained publicly wary, warning that fleeing Russians could turn Kherson into a "city of death". CONFLICT

* Ukraine's army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said Kyiv could not yet confirm whether Russia was indeed pulling out, but that Ukrainian troops had advanced 7 km (4 miles) in the past 24 hours and recaptured 12 settlements. * A small group of Ukrainian soldiers was shown on Ukraine's state TV in the centre of the village of Snihurivka around 55 km north of Kherson city. They were greeted by dozens of residents in a square, with a Ukrainian flag fluttering from a pole behind them. Reuters verified the location of the video.

* Moscow ordered its troops on Wednesday to withdraw from the entire Russian-held pocket on the west bank of the Dnipro River, including Kherson city, the only regional capital Russia had captured in nine months of war. * A senior adviser to Ukraine's president said Russia wanted to turn Kherson into a "city of death", and accused Moscow of mining everything from apartments to sewers and planning to shell the southern Ukrainian city from the other side of the River Dnipro.

DIPLOMACY * Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend a gathering of leaders from the Group of 20 (G20) nations in person next week but may join virtually, officials from Russia and the host country Indonesia said.

* U.S. President Joe Biden said he expects U.S. aid to Ukraine to continue without interruption despite scepticism expressed by Republicans who appear poised to take control of the U.S. House of Representatives. * The British government said it had frozen assets together worth 18 billion pounds ($20.5 billion) held by Russian oligarchs, other individuals and entities sanctioned for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

* Top U.N. officials will meet a senior Russian delegation in Geneva on Friday to discuss extending a Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal and efforts to smooth shipments of Russian food and fertilizers to global markets, the United Nations said. ECONOMY

Ukraine's Economy Minister Yulia Syvrydenko said Russia's destruction of civilian infrastructure would widen the expected contraction of gross domestic production to 39% from an earlier forecast of a 35% drop. QUOTES

"This is a validation of Ukraine's military strategy and the approach taken by its senior leadership. They are succeeding and the Russians know it," tweeted Mick Ryan, a retired Australian general. "Now is NOT the time to force Ukraine into negotiations."